FRANKIE GAVIN'S dreams of an Olympic boxing gold have been dealt a devastating blow.

The British fighter has been forced to withdraw on the eve of the Games after failing to boil down to the 60kg lightweight limit.

Hotly-tipped Gavin, 22, has now left the team’s holding camp in Macau, where he had been attempting one final push.

GB head coach Terry Edwards said: “Frankie has been working his whole boxing career towards the Olympic Games and he is obviously completely devastated.

“Whilst the support staff down in Macau and I, have done everything we could, regrettably it is clear that Frankie will not make his weight before tomorrow morning’s weigh-in.”

Gavin admitted he faced a struggle to make the weight and had been campaigning almost exclusively in the 64kg category with the exception of last November’s World Championships in Chicago.

Gavin’s performances in the US, when he became Britain’s first ever world amateur champion, gave his team confidence he would be able to hit the limit again for a tournament he was favoured to win.

But it became increasingly obvious in recent weeks Gavin was struggling desperately to shed the final few pounds in time for the Friday morning weigh-in.

Edwards added: “It is the nature of our sport that we try and get our boxers to the top of their weight and it has been well documented that Frankie has struggled with this over recent months.

“My advice to him has been to take stock over the next couple of weeks and I will talk to him about his future as soon as I get home."