Boxing: Degale's blast at civil war; FOCUS ON BEIJING GAMES OLYMPICS.

JAMES DEGALE made a mockery of the civil war continuing to grip domestic amateur boxing by reaching an Olympic final and sealing the British team's finest performance at the Games for over half a century.

Even late defeats for Tony Jeffries and David Price - who will have to settle for bronze medals - failed to take the gloss off an historic day and a simply masterful performance from Degale in his 10-3 victory over Ireland's Darren Sutherland.

Afterwards, Degale launched an impassioned defence of the team's head coach Terry Edwards, who finds himself under pressure from ABA officials back home despite steering three fighters to medals.

Asked if he would stay amateur if Edwards was relieved of his duties, Degale said: "I don't think the majority of them would. I would not.

"Terry doesn't get the respect he deserves. We've all got respect for him. He's fantastic and all the rubbish he gets is not fair.

"Terry sat us down and explained it all to us and it's a load of rubbish to be honest.

"All we're here for is to win gold medals. Everything is fine and it will be sorted out when we get back."

Jeffries also slammed the criticism of Edwards after his comprehensive 10-3 defeat to Ireland's Kenny Egan.

Liverpool super-heavyweight Price failed to join Degale in a final when he was outclassed by Italian world champion Roberto Cammarelle, who led 9-0 when he stopped Price with 50 seconds left in round two.

Disappointed Price said: "I feel like all the good work I've put in here has just gone down the pan.

He caught me cold in the first round and he surprised me. The best man won on the night."

Jeffries was equally disappointed after being comprehensively outpointed by clever Ireland veteran Kenny Egan, whose slick southpaw style enabled him to befuddle the Sunderland man and score a richly deserved success.