By James Slater: In massively surprising and disappointing news that has been reported on Setanta Sports, lightweight boxer Frankie Gavin of the U.K will NOT now be going to the Olympic games being held in Beijing. The reason? The talented Birmingham fighter as been beaten by the scales and cannot get down to the 60 KG limit.
Not only is this a shocking development in itself, but the fact that it has taken until now – a mere two days before the games are set to begin – for the G.B team to announce Gavin will not be fighting is more than a touch strange. According to the news article on Setanta, Gavin, Britain’s first ever world amateur champion, has been struggling to get down to lightweight for some time and admitted defeat today.
Britain’s favourite boxer to win a medal, more than likely a gold, Gavin will now leave it up to his team-mates, of which there are seven, to do his country proud. Britain still has an excellent chance of being rewarded with a number of medals, what with Gavin’s team-mates being a talented bunch themselves, but the undoubted star of the squad was the 23-year-old who won great acclaim in Chicago last year.
Apparently, there was no chance of Gavin boxing up a weight in Beijing instead, as team-mate Bradley Saunders has qualified, and will be boxing at light-welterweight. Now, his Olympic dream over, Gavin will look towards turning professional instead. Reportedly, top names such as Oscar De La Hoya, Frank Warren and Mick Hennessy have expressed major interest in obtaining the talent’s signature.
There is little doubt Gavin would be a welcome addition to the pro ranks, and as long as he is able to make the transition from amateur to pro, there will be the opportunity for him to grab plenty of gold as a paid athlete. Still, the 2008 Olympics will not now be quite the same knowing Frankie will not be taking part. Not only was he a favourite to win a medal, he is also an exciting and enjoyable boxer to watch.
Great Britain’s hopes now rest with flyweight Khalid Saeed Yafai, bantamweight Joe Murray (the brother of top pro John Murray), light-welterweight Bradley Saunders, welterweight Billy Joe Saunders, middleweight James DeGale, light-heavyweight Tony Jeffries and super-heavyweight David Price.
So far no public announcement has been made by Gavin, but he is surely feeling very disappointed at the moment. As we all are.