TWO North-East boxers have been told to prove they deserve to be part of the Great Britain squad for the long term after Euro call-ups - and world champion Carl Froch is doing his best to help one of them along the way.

Sunderland's Warren Baister will swap sparring with IBF super-middleweight champ Froch for the plane that flies to Belarus next month for the European Amateur Championships.

And he will be joined at one of the most prestigious amateur competitions around by Newcastle's promising light heavyweight Lawrence Osueke in the 13-strong elite pool.

Coach Rob McCracken is on the look-out for the group to show they have the credentials to push for an Olympic spot in 2016 in Brazil.

He said: "Tournaments at this stage in the Olympic cycle are always tough and this will be a big challenge for the boxers as the Europeans are traditionally one of the toughest assignments in the calendar.

"For a lot of this group it will be their first appearance at a major tournament so it is an opportunity for these boxers to test themselves at the highest level and demonstrate they have the qualities to become one of the mainstays of the GB squad as we build towards Rio 2016."

Froch is gearing up to defend his belt against Mikkel Kessler at the O2 Arena on Saturday, May 25, in the hope of setting up a rematch with WBC champ Andre Ward. Baister has been heading down to Nottingham to help him with his big fight preparations.

And Froch, 35, said: "I have been sparring with Warren in the last few weeks and the fact he is sparring with us alongside former British heavyweight champion Tony Bellew so it is a sign of how far he has come.

"Warren is a quality fighter but realises the significant step between amateur and pros but I don't need to tell him that as he is bright enough. He has enormous potential - that's all it is at this stage.

"I am delighted he is up at Sheffield with Rob, he couldn't have a better coach anywhere in the world and our success at the Olympics proved that. He needs to listen to people who give good advice and he could go a long way in the amateurs and pros if he does that."

The experience will have done Sunderland's highly-rated heavyweight the power of good in his development, having caught the eye since following up Senior ABAE glory in 2008 by becoming British champion in 2011.

The 27-year-old, who started boxing when he was 17, had hoped to be involved in last summer's Olympics only to be denied when he was defeated by Bulgarian Termel Pulev in a European qualifiers quarter-final last 13 months ago.

Osueke, on the other hand, has made quick progress since emerging on to the amateur scene as a 19-year-old with Rye Hill ABC.

And the North Shields boxer has gone from strength-to-strength since becoming the ABAE national champion in 2010; crowned British champion two years in a row after that.

Osueke, 25, is trained by his uncle, Manny Burgo, and his rise continued in February when he impressed on his debut for the British Lionhearts.