INQUIRER Sports

BEIJING -- Brad Pitt has arrived in Beijing ready to make a name for himself after spending two weeks training in Thailand.

That's Pitt the Australian heavyweight boxer, not the movie megastar whose partner Angelina Jolie gave birth to twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline last month.

Pitt spearheads the nine-strong Australian boxing team that is looking to snap a 20-year Olympic medal drought, but they know a tough task faces them.

"We had great training in Thailand with some quality partners and we are ready to go," said Pitt, who proved he is more than just a flashy name by blasting his way to Commonwealth Games gold in 2006.

"There is great spirit in the team and we are all right behind each other," he added.

As well as Pitt, middleweight Jarrod Fletcher is seen as a medal prospect after also winning Commonwealth Games gold.

"Commonwealth Games does not compare to the Olympics," Fletcher said of his triumph in Melbourne.

"The Olympics is 28 of the best boxers in the world, so it is a massive step up. Our preparation has been great and I am giving myself a really good chance," he said.

Fletcher says the team's confidence has been boosted by the training camp in Thailand that included some fierce sparring sessions against boxers from Cuba, Germany and France.

Australia's best boxing performance at an Olympics was when light welterweight Grahame "Spike" Cheney won a silver medal in Seoul in 1988.