Boxing: Said aims for first senior title en route to Olympic medal

Khalid Said won the World Under-17 title last year and tonight will try to win the Amateur Boxing Association light-flyweight title in his first season as a senior boxer. Said is one of two 17-year-olds lining up in the ABA's 119th finals which have been sold out for over a week and once again take place at York Hall, Bethnal Green. In tonight's light-flyweight final Said, from the Birmingham Police club, meets Vauxhall's Paul Butler in the first of the 12 finals.

"Winning the world title was the start of my preparation for the Beijing Olympics," said Said. "Winning the ABA title is another part of the long-term plan to get a medal at the Olympics." The most exciting teenager on display is 18-year-old George Groves who has already won seven times to reach the middleweight final where he meets Walcott's Marlon Reid. Groves, from the Dale Youth club in Shepherd's Bush, has been impressive on the Under-19s circuit in Europe, but his win over the veteran James DeGale was both the shock and the highlight so far of this year's championship.