Boxing: Grinning Evans gains revenge over Lithuanian

Fred Evans (right) takes the fight to Egidijus Kavaliauskas (Getty Images)

Fred Evans started slowly and finished at a furious pace against a backdrop of deafening noise to gain revenge over Lithuania's Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the welterweight division.

Evans, the youngest remaining member of Britain's boxing team at 21, was stopped by Kavaliauskas last year in the World Championships but yesterday he was flawless and deserved his passage to the quarter-finals with an 11-7 win.

"I have wanted a rematch since he beat me last year," said Evans. "I enjoyed that and there is nowhere better to box than here – the crowd is amazing."

The opening round finished 2-1 to the Lithuanian, then after two rounds it was 5-5 and in the last round Evans went to work and was smiling as his final punches connected.

Robert McCracken, the GB head coach, said: "Our job now is to keep him calm and get him ready for his next contest. Fred is the European champion and one of the very best in the world at his weight. This was all about getting sweet revenge. I'm proud of him and I'm proud of all the boxers; it's not a bad team, you know."

Evans now joins super-heavyweight Anthony Joshua and middleweight Anthony Ogogo in the quarter-finals.