From burger van to Beijing battler

IF YOU are one of the thousands of Irish fans who have travelled to Sunderland supporting the Black Cats in the Premiership, you may have met Tony Jeffries, the British boxer who faces Kenny Egan in an Olympic light heavyweight semi-final tomorrow night.

Indeed you may have spoken to the affable Jeffries though he probably did most of the talking. He would have enquired if you wanted salt or vinegar on your chips or a full helping of salad on your burger as he slaved away for hours on end in his catering van.

This weekend 54 weeks ago Jeffries was selling hot dogs from a stand outside the Stadium of Light as Roy Keane’s side kicked off their Premier League campaign against Spurs.