Russia's Selimov makes early exit

Featherweight champion Albert Selimov of Russia was eliminated in the first round by the Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko.

Russia's Albert Selimov (R) fights against Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko during their 2008 Olympic Games Featherweight (57 kg) boxing bout on August 11, 2008 in Beijing.

BEIJING // World and European featherweight champion Albert Selimov of Russia was eliminated in the first round of the Olympic boxing competition when Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko outpointed him 14-7. Selimov was regarded as the favourite to take over the title from compatriot Alexey Tischchenko, the 2004 champion who has moved to lightweight. The draw, however, had been tough on him, with Lomachenko looking for revenge after losing to Selimov in the final of last year's world championship in Chicago.

Selimov led 2-0 after a highly tactical first round but Lomachenko then stepped up a few gears. The Ukrainian moved comfortably ahead in the next two rounds and could even afford the luxury of dancing around his opponent in the fourth round. "He (Selimov) was not in great shape," said Russian coach Dmytro Sosnovskyi. "They both know each other well and are both strong boxers. Maybe being the world champion gave him extra pressure and made him nervous."

Tishchenko, trying to become the first boxer in 28 years to win gold in two different weight classes, had no such problems, starting with an easy 10-2 win over Tunisia's Saifeddine Nejmaoui. The 24-year-old, who was not really tested, concentrated on defending and did little to enhance his reputation in a scruffy bout. "I tried not to spend too much energy and defended mostly," he said. "The other guy got too close and clinched too much. It was not a very beautiful bout and I didn't like it."

The third day's first session also saw Cuban lightweight Yordenis Ugas score a punishing 21-3 win over Algerian Hamza Kramou and American Raynell Williams outpoint Italy's Alessio di Savino 9-1. * Reuters