Frankie Gavin is not going to Beijing

[Gray-Fox]

He cannot make the weight.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic ... 546521.stm

[lefthook82]

Idiot !!!

I read this and I was so angry my mum asked if I knew him

So fornicating sloppy

[Deserter]

Absolutely staggering and bordering on complete farce. I can't recall anything like this happening before at this level in the amateur game. What's the betting 'Uncle Frank' will be waiting in the arrivals hall, contract in hand?!

[Old bones Ian]

I don't think you can put any blame on Warren, Since winning the world am championship at lightweight Gavin has not boxed at that weight, all his fights since were at lightwelter.

He found it incredibly hard to make lightweight as it was for the world championships, having to train for 2 hours of each day , and then fight on the same day.
As a growing lad, maybe he just can't get his body down to lightwieght anymore, i can't see there being a reason for him doing this deliberitly.

As Bradley Saunders has qualified for Lightwelter , then Frankie couldn't step up to that weight.

[Poncey]

I hope this doesn't affect the team.

[Deserter]

I don't think you can put any blame on Warren, Since winning the world am championship at lightweight Gavin has not boxed at that weight, all his fights since were at lightwelter.

He found it incredibly hard to make lightweight as it was for the world championships, having to train for 2 hours of each day , and then fight on the same day.
As a growing lad, maybe he just can't get his body down to lightwieght anymore, i can't see there being a reason for him doing this deliberitly.

As Bradley Saunders has qualified for Lightwelter , then Frankie couldn't step up to that weight.

Sorry fella but you've completely misinterpreted my post. I was merely suggesting that Warren will now look to persuade him to go pro, not that he was involved in this sorry shambles or that the situation was engineered in any way. I fully accept that Gavin was struggling to make the weight, but I can't help but question why it should get to this late stage as it does make boxing a laughing stock again. It's particularly frusrating given the hi-tech level of preparation that is supposed to prevent incidents of this very nature

[Loftgroov]

This is an absolute farce. How could making the weight for the most important event there is be left to chance?

What a complete knob.

[bennie]

He may regret this for the rest of his days.

[dondada]

http://www.britishboxing.net/news_3683- ... Games.html

Little bit more info here...I was pretty sure of this a couple of weeks ago but was hoping he'd sort it out.

What really pisses me off is that the team have been very solid with an agreement not to talk about after the Games...yet Gavin seemed to be coming out insisting that unless he was given a load of money he would turn pro.

And he hasn't come through for Team GB after all the funding on the main stage anyway.

I'm sure he'll be devastated - like Scott Harrison (when he was boxing at the end) it must have just been physically impossible to get down.

[Everton FC]

They've all spoken to the promoters!! Fact..Not just Frankie!!

He's so devastated it's unreal, Inconsolable!! He tried everything he could to lose the weight..It just wasn't possible to lose anymore..All the team are devastated for him and can't believe it..

[EddieShredder]

I can't imagine that in the Olympic training setup - he'd be allowed to miss the weight if there was any chance at all he could make it.

I'll be interested to read more, we'll probably find out once the Olympics are over if there were any problems etc... but my initial thought is that he simply can' get down to LW any more.

Must be gutting for the lad, and hard for the team.

[steve689]

What a bombshell. I knew Gavin had weight issues but this is a shocker all the same.

[sweetscience]

he posted on warriorboxing the other day saying he was at 61kg and would piss it

gutted for the lad but what a plank at the same time

[Everton FC]

He said he was 61.6 and something stupid like 4% body fat!! You ask any athlete on the planet and they'll all tell you that it isn't healthy to be that low in body fat!! The kid was dehydrated to death and it could have been very dangerous to go into a bout where he's going to take head punches while being dehydrated..Remember Spencer Oliver and Paul Ingle..It could have ended up a tragedy for Frankie..

He's more devastated than anyone in the world and anyone on this site right now!! He's just lost out on becoming a Millionaire before he even threw a proffesional punch!!! It's like having the winning lottery ticket and losing it..This is so very sad for Frankie and British Boxing..

[TerribleTerry]

Absolutely gutted for the lad.

He has been boiling his body down for YEARS to get on weight and he has finally completely outgrown the division. If there was an way he could have made the weight I am sure he would have.

This isnt a case of him having too many burgers or somthing like that but rather the result of natural growth and added lean muscle mass from his pro style training regimes.

I remember seeing Frankie having his weight monitored at 15 after sparring sessions so no wonder it has finally become impossible to get down.

Dont blame him and Team GB for trying til the last hour to get him on weight - he is a world champiion after all.

[chris s]

Edwards should have seen this coming. Apart from Chicago he has been boxing at light-welterweight for ages.

All the funding has been a waste.

[sweetscience]

could he not have gone to the 2nd and 3rd qualifier then box off with saunders ??

or has the weight PROBLEM only just emergered as this bad

[TheGoods]

Staggering. The best Gold medal prospect of all the Britons and he's on his way home. Somebody has not done their job properly IMO. There is too much money flying about to call it a shame/unlucky. This is not the world cadets. It's the 2008 Olympic Games. Feel so sorry for him. And I hope I get the £200 back I put on him to win the thing as well!

[Deserter]

Edwards should have seen this coming. Apart from Chicago he has been boxing at light-welterweight for ages.

All the funding has been a waste.

Exactly. No-one's disputing that Gavin probably tried his best to make the weight, but how on earth could we not see this coming given we've supposedly got such a professional set-up now. It beggars belief.

[Captain Hook]

If you can't make the weight to get to the Olympics, arguably the biggest stage in sport, then what chance has he got v a journeyman at some leisure centre in a couple of years.

This will damage his reputation and profile. He would have been watched by millions, now when he turns pro no fornicator will have heard of him.

But I agree it's also down to the trainers and people around him. Absolute mess.

[Poncey]

Has someone got the timetabvle for the BBCs Boxing highlights for the Olympics? I'll add it to the TV Schedule.

[dondada]

Edwards should have seen this coming. Apart from Chicago he has been boxing at light-welterweight for ages.

All the funding has been a waste.

Exactly. No-one's disputing that Gavin probably tried his best to make the weight, but how on earth could we not see this coming given we've supposedly got such a professional set-up now. It beggars belief.

They did see it coming, I'm pretty sure of that - but AFTER he'd already qualified. You qualify at a weight, I think, and when he qualified he was a lightweight. Saunders qualified in the weight above and that's that. They were banking on him managing to do the weight one more time and it's been too much.

But, as I said, it was rather unfortunate that he was the only one speaking out and seemed to be holding the funding bodies to ransom if they didn't cough up...and now he hasn't come through for them.

[TerribleTerry]

If you can't make the weight to get to the Olympics, arguably the biggest stage in sport, then what chance has he got v a journeyman at some leisure centre in a couple of years.

Thats one of the most stupid comments I have ever seen on this board - take your head out of your a5re.

Do you think this is down to lazyness or a lack of discipline on Gavin's part? You effing joker. You aint got a clue.

Do you know what he would do as a pro if he couldnt make light weight? Move up to light welter.

That option wasnt open to him here - he is reigning world champ at light weight and Saunders was qualified at light welter. THe option was drag himself down to the weight for one more time or withdraw.

[Deserter]

Edwards should have seen this coming. Apart from Chicago he has been boxing at light-welterweight for ages.

All the funding has been a waste.

Exactly. No-one's disputing that Gavin probably tried his best to make the weight, but how on earth could we not see this coming given we've supposedly got such a professional set-up now. It beggars belief.

They did see it coming, I'm pretty sure of that - but AFTER he'd already qualified. You qualify at a weight, I think, and when he qualified he was a lightweight. Saunders qualified in the weight above and that's that. They were banking on him managing to do the weight one more time and it's been too much.

But, as I said, it was rather unfortunate that he was the only one speaking out and seemed to be holding the funding bodies to ransom if they didn't cough up...and now he hasn't come through for them.

I hear what you're saying Ian, but given the level of supposed professionalism in the set-up and what we now know about physiology etc, I still find it hard to believe that this issue couldn't have been better anticipated. It's not as if Gavin's had a sudden 'growth spurt' over the past few months so it surely must been recognised months ago that he was dangerously close to the 'tipping point' in terms of not being able to make the weight any more. Given this, why weren't the management team proactive about the dilema and instead opting to 'groom' him for light-welter rather than take a huge roll of the dice that we've now seen has backfired massively?
It's a separate issue, but in terms of timing the announcement's also been appallingly handled - doing it on the eve of the Olympics makes the whole thing look even more amateurish (no pun intended) and damaging to boxing's credibility.

[yiddo14]

Gavin's problem with the weight is hardly breaking news, it has been going on for sometime now.

The only question I have is, why didn't Gavin compete at Light-Welter in the Worlds?