Great Britain and Ireland brought home a combined total of 10 medals from the European Amateur Championships which hinted at a successful return from the London Olympics.

Belfast light-flyweight Paddy Barnes was the only man to strike gold but other superb performances from the likes of his team-mate Darren O'Neill plus Englishmen Khalid Yafai and Iain Weaver augured well.

Crucially, both nations now have full-time programmes in place designed to fast-track their young up-and-comers onto the biggest stage, and the success of those talent identification campaigns were evident in Moscow.

Yafai's younger brother, 18-year-old Gamal, made an emphatic major senior debut at flyweight, only narrowly being denied by home favourite Eduard Abzalimov in the semis, while Bournemouth's Iain Weaver was a featherweight finalist.

Last year, Weaver was only just being brought into the British podium squad on trial basis after impressing in the ABAs. Meanwhile Gamal was considering giving up the sport after being frozen out by the previous regime.

Great Britain head coach Robert McCracken said: "One of the most satisfying things about our performance in Moscow was how well the younger guys in the squad performed.

"They showed they belong at this level and they ought to have a big future ahead of them. At the same time we have such strength in depth on the programme at the moment that no-one is guaranteed anything."

Just ask Luke Campbell, who became Britain's first European champion for 47 years in Liverpool two years ago but now finds himself very much second in line to the featherweight slot behind Weaver.

In Ireland it is a similar story, with Derry featherweight Tyrone McCullagh excelling on his senior debut and coming home with a bronze medal. In bantamweight John Joe Nevin, they boast a tremendously experienced 21-year-old prospect.

Russia may have dominated in their home European Championships, winning seven of the 11 available gold medals, but there is no reason to believe the British and Irish teams cannot carve the medals up in similarly dominant fashion in 2012.

As far as next October's Commonwealth Games are concerned, the biggest challenge for many of the competing boxers will be claiming that selection place in the first place, let alone going for gold.

The competition at featherweight will soon be mirrored at lightweight, where up-and-coming Repton star Martin Ward is growing into the weight and shaping up to challenge newly-crowned European silver medallist Tom Stalker.

At light-welterweight, 2007 world bronze medallist Bradley Saunders is shaping up for a tough battle with Scott Cardle who, in Saunders' injury-enforced absence, excelled in reaching the world quarter-finals last year.

Where the three new Olympic women's categories are concerned, Ireland will boast a red-hot favourite in two-time world champion Katie Taylor, while Britain's Savannah Marshall is tipped to shine at 75kg.