Boxers to watch out for at the 2012 London Olympics

We are literally just around the corner from the London 2012 Olympic games and already sports fans are talking about who will win gold. This hub is going to look at the boxers expected to medal at the Olympics.

For many amateur boxing is more like fencing than it's professional counterpart, this hasn't stopped a number of former amateur stars going to the professional ranks and dominating their divisions (even in recent times). Though historically the amateur powerhouses have been Russia, Cuba and the USA these are no longer the dominant forces of amateur boxing and instead, as we will see in a minute, Ukraine are an emerging force. It's with Ukraine in mind we get to a number of the hotly tipped fighters.

The first fighter we will look at is Ukrainian Lightweight superstar, and almost certainly the red hot favourite Vasyl Lomachenko. Lomachenko has really been a special talent over the years with 2 World Amateur Gold medals (2009, 2011) an Olympic Gold (2008) a European Gold (2008). Despite his complete domination of the medal scene he's still only only a youngster at just 23 years old and a Gold in London in 2012 will be the icing on his boxing cake, and hopefully the final chapter of his amateur boxing days.

Anther Ukrainian to keep your eyes out for will be Oleksandr Usyk in the Heavyweight division. Usyk isn't a superstar like Lomachenko but he's a fighter that is always amongst the favourites and is always more than capable of handling himself with anyone in the ring. Although he's not got the huge list of medals of Lomachenko he has a pretty cabinet himself with Gold medals at the 2008 European champions and the recent (2011) World Amateur championships (as well as Bronze in the 2006 European championships and 2009 World Amateur championships). Although he's unlikely to be as heavily favoured as his countryman he is one of the hot tips for the division alongside Italian Clemente Russo.

Other Ukrainian fighters worth a look include Middleweight Evhen Khytrov (who burst onto the scene in the past few years and won Gold at the 2011 World Amateur championships beating Ryoto Murata in the final), Welterweight Taras Shelestyuk (who also won Gold at the 2011 World Amateur championships) and Denys Berinchyk (who won Silver at Light Welterweight).

Outside of Ukraine you do still have a number of great fighters from other emerging forces in the amateur ranks. China, for example, have recently built on a good showing from the 2008 Olympics and Light Flyweight Zou Shiming almost certainly starts as one of the ones to watch. Shiming is a 3 time World Amateur champion (2005, 2007, 2011) a 2 times Asian games champions (2006, 2010) and also won Olympic gold back in Beijing in 2008. Whilst Shiming would be a really solid pick Mongolian star Pürevdorjiin Serdamba is likely to be his main challenge. Serdamba isn't quite as well known as Shiming though is himself a World Amateur championship winner (2009) and won Silver in the 2008 Olympic final having suffered an injury in the final.

At Super Heavyweight we had a huge upset in the World Amateur Championships as 2008 Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle was upset by British fighter Anthony Joshua. I'd be massively surprised however if Cammarelle doesn't medal in London. The big Italian policeman is one of the best amateur fighters out there and was very unlucky not to defeat Joshua in Baku, if they meet in the Olympics I fear the British fighter may be given a dose of revenge.

Although I'm not thinking much of Joshua's chances several of his British team mates really do have a real chance of taking home a medal. Tom Stalker would be my pick of the Brits, the Scouse Middleweight can do it all though now needs to really prove himself after a string of coming second best. Although Stalker is a Commonwealth games Gold medal winner, he has twice fallen at the final hurdle and picked up Silver at European championships (2010, 2011) and London will likely be his last chance before turning professional.

As well as Stalker Britain have Luke Campbell and Andrew Selby two very solid fighters who could easily take home a medal each if the draws help them out. Sadly for Campbell he is likely to be in the same division as Cuban superstar kid Lázaro Álvarez the Pan Am and World Amateur champion for 2011. Álvarez may well be one of the very few Cubans who you would imagine walking to a medal in all honesty though team mate Julio César la Cruz (Light Heavyweight) will also be looking to add an Olympic medal to his World and Pan championship Golds.

Despite all the names listed here London 2012 will almost certainly give us some surprises where a fighter emerges from almost nowhere to take an unexpected medal. The most interesting part of the 2012 games however, will be what happens to the fighters after the games. Which fighters will turn professional? Who will carry on along the amateur road? Who will join the ranks of the other prospects to watch in 2012?