Kent's John Saunders is poised to follow in the footsteps of former winners Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan after booking a dream date in the final of the Junior ABA Championships.

Saunders, 16, was one of three young Medway fighters lining up in the semi-finals of the prestigious competition on Sunday.

But following defeats for Brompton Boxing Club’s Jordan Dennis and Sittingbourne ABC’s Billy Rumble, the opportunity to claim junior boxing’s most prized title now rests with highly-rated Saunders after his classy 12-4 victory over Fisher ABC’s Cai Cheal.

The St Mary’s Boxing Club fighter trailed 2-1 after the first round and was level at 4-4 at the conclusion of the second, but his quality told in the final round.

"John boxed very well," said head trainer Dave Bowler. "He started slowly and was swinging his punches too much in the first couple of rounds. But once he straightened his shots up in the final round he was just too good."

Standing between Saunders and the title now is Wigan’s John Turner who beat Saunders 18 months ago. The eagerly-awaited bout will take place at the Everton Park Sports Centre in Liverpool.

"John's come on leaps and bounds and we're confident he can go on and win it," added Bowler.