Billy Joe Saunders has become Great Britain's seventh boxing qualifier for the Beijing Olympics after winning his bronze medal box-off against Slovakia's Pavol Hlavacka in Pescara.

The 18-year-old, from a travelling community near Hoddesdon, produced a controlled performance to triumph 20-10 and secure his place in Team GB's strongest Olympic boxing squad.

Showing no ill effects from his semi-final defeat to Ukraine's Oleksandr Stretskyy on Friday, Saunders edged the first round by a point and his blistering hand speed saw him extend his lead throughout.

Saunders has been fast-tracked towards Beijing after a stunning unbeaten start to his senior career which only came to end in his 30th bout against Stretskyy - a loss which head coach Terry Edwards believes was a blessing in disguise.

Edwards said: "The pressure was off Billy Joe after yesterday. The loss of his record was a burden off his shoulders. He has shown remarkable improvement. He boxed very well and controlled the bout throughout."

Saunders is the second teenage member of the Olympic squad after Khalid Yafai qualified on Friday.

Middleweight James Degale was the third fighter to come through the tough Pescara competition.

World champion Frankie Gavin, Joe Murray, Tony Jeffries and Bradley Saunders had all previously qualified for Beijing at the World Championships in Chicago in November.

But there was heartbreak for Liverpool featherweight Stephen Smith, who lost 18-13 to German Wilhelm Gratschow, much to the anger of the England team who complained that Smith had been denied sufficient warm-up time.

Smith must now turn his attention towards the final qualifying tournament in Athens next month.

Super-heavyweight David Price and heavyweight Danny Price will be among those looking to boost a history-making team still further.

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