WELSH amateur stars such as St Joseph's Andrew Selby and Olympic medallist Fred Evans have received a huge boost as they chase glory in Rio.

Great Britain's top boxers have received a boost to their hopes of qualifying for the Rio Olympics following the news of the British Lionhearts' return to the World Series of Boxing next year.

The London-based franchise reached the quarter-finals in their debut season in the competition in 2013 but subsequently withdrew from the event citing financial concerns.

However, a combination of Great Britain's keenness to maximise their opportunities with regard to qualification for the Rio 2016, and the desire of governing body AIBA to see a British team back in the competition, will see a return in January.

The news provides a home-based path into the competition for the squad's current stars including Antony Fowler, who tweeted: "Had some great news today, news that I think will very much help my journey to qualifying for the Rio2016 Olympics."

More than a quarter of the expected total of 250 boxers in Rio will qualify via the WSB and its sister competition, APB, including direct qualification for the season-ranked number one in each weight category.

The WSB is not organised Davis Cup-style on strictly national grounds, meaning other British boxers have been able to compete abroad. London 2012 silver medallist Fred Evans has already been drafted to fight for Italia Thunder in the coming season.

But in practice the Lionhearts squad is likely to be stacked with the likes of Fowler and world number one Andrew Selby, giving them the chance to fight at home and better fit in with their regular competition and training schedules.

A spokesperson for the British Amateur Boxing Association confirmed: "We have agreed in principle to enter a British franchise in the 2014-15 season of World Series Boxing, which begins in January 2015.

"As the organisation which operates the world class performance programme for boxing, the BABA has a responsibility to do as much as it possibly can to increase opportunities for boxers from Great Britain to qualify for the Olympic Games.

"Given that so many qualification places are available through WSB, we believe it is in the best interests of our boxers to participate in the forthcoming season."

Subject to contractual details, AIBA has agreed to underwrite a significant proportion of the cost of running the London franchise, in tandem with financial and logistical support from BABA.

Highlights of the first incarnation of the Lionhearts included a spectacular bantamweight contest between Selby and Northern Ireland's Michael Conlan, who was then representing the USA Knockouts.

Sell-out crowds also witnessed matches against teams from Kazakhstan and Ukraine at Bethnal, in which some of the world's best amateurs, including world and Olympic champion Vasyl Lomachenko, were on show.

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