Olympian Selby returns for Ukraine trip

The team, who won their opening fixture with China 3-2, have the luxury of calling on London 2012 flyweight Andrew Selby, undefeated in his WSB career, and superheavyweight Joe Joyce for the trip to Kiev to take on the Ukraine Otamans.

It will the duo's first appearance of the season and they will be joined by lightweight Joe Cordina, welterweight Ekow Essuman and light-heavyweight Aston Brown.

While the Lionhearts won their opening match so did their opponents who sealed a 4-1 win over Mexico Guerreros.

And, while Cracken knows it will be a tough ask to defeat the Ukrainians, he believes it is also a chance to make a real statement.

"This is a very tough fixture as the Ukranians have traditionally been one of the strongest teams in WSB and have a lot of boxers with a great deal of experience in this competition," he told GB Boxing.

"It is good that we can call on Selby and Joyce, who have both enjoyed success in WSB, however this is a relatively inexperienced Lionhearts team so the important thing is that the boxer's go out there, give a good account of themselves and show that they have what it takes to prosper in this competition as the season unfolds."

� Sportsbeat 2015