Fred Evans and Andrew Selby set for new amateur concept

Olympic silver medallist Fred Evans will be on home soil when Great Britain host their first World Series of Boxing (WSB) match.

The GB amateur team, known as the British Lionhearts, will welcome Italy's Italia Thunder to the Celtic Manor in Newport on 23 November.

World silver medallist Andrew Selby will also feature, so could 2012 super-heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

The WSB is a new 12-nation tournament for amateur boxers.

Bouts will be over five three-minute rounds instead of the usual three, and boxers will not wear the customary protective headgear and vests.

Run by amateur boxing's governing body, International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), the WSB series guarantees that boxers will retain their Olympic eligibility for the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 despite being paid to compete.

London 2012 silver medallist Evans became only the second Welshman to win an Olympic boxing medal when he lost to lost to Kazakhstan boxer Serik Sapiyev in the welterweight final.

The 21-year-old is expected to move up to middleweight (68-73kg) in the WSB event. The four other weight categories will be bantamweight (50-54kg), lightweight (57-61kg), light-heavyweight (80-85kg) and heavyweight (91+kg) contests.

World Championship silver medallist Andrew Selby, who also took part at the Olympics, has also been confirmed for the WSB series and is set to move up to fight at bantamweight.

The British Lionhearts will face the United States in California in their opening fixture on 15 November before hosting Italy at the Celtic Manor, host venue of golf's 2010 Ryder Cup.

They will also take on Kazakhstan, Germany and Ukraine, home and away, in Group B.

The Lionhearts's World Series of Boxing team will be launched in London on Tuesday.