According to Italian super heavyweight Clemente Russo, a double Olympic silver medallist, digestive problems caused him to no-show in his Tokyo 2020 qualifying bout with Britain’s Frazer Clarke on Saturday.
The 37-year-old was seeking to fight at a fifth Games. He told his 130,000 followers on Instagram that ‘bad digestion’ had kept him stuck in his room for the past 24 hours. The trainer cited an abdominal problem, according to the event organisers.
“I’ve tried to train, I’ve tried to react but I am somewhat weakened and they will not let me fight,” said Russo, a silver medal winner in 2008 and 2012.
The qualifying tournament at London’s Copper Box was not highly attended. It involved 342 boxers from 43 countries and is one of few sporting events going ahead as many other have been canceled due to coronavirus.
Russo's country of Italy is in lockdown as the European country was hit hard by the coronavirus but Russo and the Italian boxing team have been training in Britain for several weeks.
Russo is still very confident of getting to the Olympics. He plans to compete in the upcoming European qualifying tournament scheduled for Paris, which takes place from May 13-20. Nobody is fully certain if it actually takes place with the current scenario in the world.
“Today more than yesterday I am convinced I can do it, I am convinced I can once more take Italian pride, which at the moment is going through great difficulty, to the top,” Russo said.
Clarke, a former sparring partner for unified heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, was given a walkover.
The 28-year-old Clarke is making his third attempt to qualify for the Olympics after losing out to eventual gold medallist Joshua in 2012 and 2016 silver medal winner Joe Joyce in 2016.