Price determined to strike gold after reaching the semi-finals

Price: guaranteed a medal

David Price, Britain’s super-heavyweight gladiator, is two wins away from emulating Audley ‘A-Force’ Harrison’s victory at Sydney, and is guaranteed at least a bronze after reaching the semi-finals.

Price turned his Lithuanian opponent into boxing’s answer to Paula Radcliffe, but without the courage, striking Jaroslav Jaksto so cleanly that his adversary developed a mysterious back spasm and had to retire at the start of the second round.

Jaksto’s limping indicated a reluctance to take Price’s punches, which had given the first of Britain’s three quarter-finalists a 3-1 first-round lead.

His next opponent is Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle, who beat Price at the European Championships four years ago, but on Monday night’s form will be the underdog.

‘I was a lot lighter, inexperienced, and he was a lot sharper than he is now,’ said Price. ‘I think he’s a bit wary of me now because he knows I can bang. I’m not going to think about it as revenge. I’m thinking of it as an Olympic semi-final. I have the tools to beat him.’

Light-heavyweight Tony Jeffries faces Hungarian Imre Szello on Tuesday and middleweight James DeGale is in the last eight on Wednesday against Bakhtiyar Artayev.

This has been a turbulent fortnight for Britain’s fighters. First, Frankie Gavin failed to make the 60kg weight, then Joe Murray was eliminated amid acrimony over scoring. Finally, Bradley Saunders confessed to being relieved to escape the Games.

But three of the eight survive, so momentum has been maintained from Amir Khan’s silver in Athens and Harrison’s gold in Sydney — the first for a British amateur since Chris Finnegan in 1968.

The weekend’s eight gold medals for Great Britain are working their magic.

Price said: ‘Seeing us climb to third in the table was really inspiring. Please God I go out and do it in the semi-final and win the gold medal after being written off so many times. We’ve got one medal in the bag now.’