Teen boxer from Tooting eyes up Team GB glory at Youth Olympics
A teenage boxer from south-west London is eyeing potential future Olympic glory after she was selected by Team GB to compete in the Youth Olympics at the end of this month.
Lily Bassett, 16, from Tooting, recently won her fourth consecutive junior European Championship gold medal in Serbia after she beat opponents up to three years older than her.
She is among 16 athletes across a range of sports who will represent Great Britain at the Youth Games which begin in Dakar, Senegal, on 31 October.
Marcus Luther, who started coaching Bassett at his club TM Boxing when she was six, said she had the talent to make it all the way to the top.
“Nobody beats her. She’s the best kid in the world. She’s been the best kid in the world for a long time now,” he told BBC London.
“We are looking at a girl who potentially could be as great as Katie Taylor.”
Taylor won Olympic gold for Ireland at London 2012 before she turned pro and became three-time undisputed world champion.
Luther, who is a familiar face to fans of Channel 4 show Gogglebox having formerly starred from his sofa on the series for many years, said he believed his young protégé was well equipped for life in the limelight.
“When she started coming to boxing she was a really shy girl. Part of the reason for her family bringing her here was to bring her out of her shell,” he said.
“I never thought she would end up boxing at the highest level. Now she has so much confidence and self-belief.”
