Russell pulls out, Cubans get lucky

By Patrick Vignal

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Olympic boxing competition claimed another prominent casualty even before it started when American bantamweight Gary Russell Jr. had to pull out on Friday after collapsing while struggling to make his weight.

The 20-year-old Russell was removed by the U.S. team before Friday's draw, during which the Cubans got lucky with three of their 10 boxers getting byes past the first round of the tournament starting on Saturday.

Russell, a bronze medalist at the 2005 world championships, was found unconscious by his room mate Luis Yanez early on Friday after a workout in a last attempt to make his weight class's 54-kg limit, American coach Dan Campbell told reporters.

"When trying to make weight, these kids sometimes cut corners," Campbell said. "We believe he did not increase his fluid intake the way we had told him to."

Medical checks showed Russell's condition was not serious but he was ruled too weak to participate in the weigh-in and follows out Britain's top hope, world lightweight champion Frankie Gavin, who withdrew on Thursday for failing to make his weight.

Flyweight Andry Laffita, bantamweight Yankiel Leon and welterweight Carlos Banteaux, all from Cuba, will advance directly to the second round of the August 9-24 tournament.

That is good news to amateur boxing's superpower, who won five golds four years ago in Athens but will have no defending champion here after four defected and one retired.

There was some consolation for the U.S. team with their two world champions, flyweight Rau'shee Warren and welterweight Demetrius Andrade, facing seemingly easy first-round tasks against Korea's Lee Oksung and Georgian Kakhaber Jvania respectively.

"I'm sure they'll do it," Campbell said of his two strongest contenders. "They have a good draw, they both trained well and I believe they are going to show their potential."

Welterweight Billy Joe Saunders and super-heavyweight David Price are Britain's best prospects in Gavin's absence. Saunders should manage to get past Turkey's Adem Kilicci but Price will be tested straight away, by Russian Islam Timurziev.

Hosts China's best bet, light-flyweight Zhou Shiming, seems too good for his first-round opponent, Venezuela's Eduard Bermudez Salas.

"His (Zou's) draw's not bad," said Chinese coach Cui Fuguo. "His strongest opponents are in his later bouts. He's got a good chance."

The middleweights and light-heavyweights will be the first in action at the Workers' Gymnasium on Saturday.

(Editing by Alison Williams)