Andrew Selby was looking on the bright side of having to settle for bronze at the AIBA World Boxing Championships after his flyweight semi-final loss to Jasurbek Latipov in Kazakhstan.
Latipov nicked a close decision at the end of cagey semi-final with Selby as Britain claimed a second bronze after middleweight Anthony Fowler was forced to withdraw from his last four through injury.
Selby won silver at the last World Championships in Baku in 2011 and arrived in Almaty as the first Brit ever to defend a European amateur title following his success in Minsk back in June.
And Selby, who lost to Robeisy Ramirez in the quarter-finals at the London 2012 Olympics, was accentuating the positives of his achievements in the first year of the next Games cycle to Rio 2016.
“It has been a hard couple of weeks and it was a tough contest today but I thought I had done enough to win, so it is a disappointment to not make the world final for a second time,” said Selby.
“It just wasn’t to be this time but overall I have had a good year in 2013, winning gold at the Europeans and bronze at the Worlds, so it augurs well for the future and is a good start on the road to Rio in 2016.”
© Sportsbeat 2013