ST JOSEPH’S amateur boxing stars Sean McGoldrick and Joe Cordina are dreaming of adding more medals to their collection at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Newport bantamweight McGoldrick won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games as an 18-year-old and earned a bronze in Scotland last year.

Lightweight Cordina also won bronze at Glasgow 2014 and recovered from a broken hand to win gold at the European Championships this year.

He is certain he can win gold for Team GB in Rio next summer but McGoldrick faces a battle to book his seat on the plane.

McGoldrick’s Great Britain rival Qais Ashfaq was given the first chance to try to secure the bantamweight quota spot when the Englishman was selected ahead of the Welshman for the European Championships earlier this year.

Ashfaq won a silver in Bulgaria, which automatically qualified him for the World Championships in Doha in October.

If he had finished in the top three at the world event he would have secured a quota place for GB, which would have most likely been taken by Ashfaq.

But Ashfaq failed to achieve this in Qatar and there are three more Olympic qualifiers next year in April, May and June where McGoldrick could become involved if selected by GB Boxing chiefs.

“He’s had his chance and hopefully I’ll get my chance now,” said McGoldrick, who was speaking at the opening of the new Ringmaster UK boxing equipment shop in Skinner Street, Newport.

“I think I’ve shown that I can compete at that level and I’ve just got to stay positive and keep working hard.

“I could have turned pro after 2010 or 2014 but I’ve always wanted to go to an Olympic Games – it would be a dream come true for me.”

The 24-year-old boosted his chances by winning gold at the annual international Tammer Tournament in Tampere, Finland, in November.

McGoldrick took the top spot on the podium at 56kg after a comprehensive victory over Poland's Adrian Kowal in the final.

And is determined to follow St Joes stablemates Andrew Selby and Fred Evans, who have both now turned pro, in boxing for GB at the Olympics.

“Fred and Andrew have done so much and set such a high bar for us lads coming through behind and hopefully we can do the same for those coming after us,” he added.

“It would be tempting to go to the Gold Coast in 2018 as well and go for a third Commonwealth Games medal.

“That would be some achievement but it’s a long way off.”

Cordina believes he can go one better than Evans – who won silver at London 2012.

“It’s a bit quiet at the training camp in Sheffield without Fred and Andrew now but it’s great to have my gym-mate Sean there with me,” he said.

“We’ve been there five and half years, which is a long time, and it would be perfect for two St Joes boys to be off to Rio together.

“I’d say 2015 has certainly been better than 2014 for me,” added Cordina.

“I was a bit disappointed with bronze in Glasgow because I should have breezed through that competition.

“I know I’m talented but you’ve got to get it right on the day.

“This year I fractured my hand, which put me out for six months, but I came back and won gold in the European Championships.

“Then I went to the world championships and had three good fights. I won two and lost one against the number two in the world.

“So it’s been a lot better and hopefully I can push on now and qualify for the Olympics next year and fulfil my dreams.

“That’s where everyone wants to be but I don’t want to just go for the experience – I want to go there and grab it with both hands and bring a gold medal back.

“I want to do that for Britain, for Wales, Cardiff and Newport, where my gym is.

“I want to do it for everyone for myself as well.”

And if his dream does become a reality next summer, Cordina says he is likely to follow Selby and Evans into the pro ranks.

“If I did win a gold in Rio it would be very hard for me to stay as an amateur,” he said.

“It would be difficult to motivate myself because I would have reached the pinnacle as an amateur – there would be nowhere else to go.”