BRITISH Lionhearts have named a nine-man squad for their final home match of the season in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) against France Fighting Roosters at the Newport Centre on April 14.

The five boxers to compete in the clash, which is expected to determine the best nation in the four-team European group, will be selected early next month.

The provisional group is made up of six GB Boxing squad members and three overseas selections, and includes flyweight Will Cawley and super-heavyweight Soloman Dacres, both unbeaten in WSB.

Kiaran MacDonald and Ireland’s Joe Ward, who both starred in the Lionhearts’ 5-0 win over the Croatian Knights in the team’s first home match of the season in Gateshead, are also included.

Welterweight Cyrus Pattinson and Birtley ABC clubmate Thomas Hodgson feature, as does Carl Fail, Bulgarian Petar Belberov and Belarus’ Dzmitry Asanau.

Rob McCracken, Lionhearts head coach and GB Boxing chief, said: “We have named a strong squad which features a good balance of experienced boxers, who have competed several times in WSB, along with some of our newer up and coming talents.

“It is probable that this match will influence whether we get through to the next stage of the competition and determine who wins the group, so we are monitoring the form and fitness of the boxers to ensure we can select the strongest possible line-up to face France and give us the best chance of success.”

Early bird discount tickets are on sale now, priced £20, at gbboxing.org.uk/tickets.

WSB is a global team boxing competition contested by the world’s leading amateur boxers.

It bridges the gap between Olympic and professional boxing and boxers compete without vests or headguards over five three-minute rounds. Matches are the best of five bouts.

More details on the Lionhearts are available at gbboxing.org.uk/world-series-boxing and by following the team on twitter at @Brit_Lionhearts.