Shakur Stevenson to face Cuban Robeisy Ramirez in final after walkover

Russian who eliminated Michael Conlan was ruled out of Olympic semi-final bout due to cuts

American Shakur Stevenson will face Cuba's Robeisy Ramirez in Saturday's bantamweight gold medal bout after Russia's Vladimir Nikitin was earlier ruled out of the competition due to cuts.

Ramirez secured a unanimous points victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan in the only semi-final to take place.

Nikitin was awarded a unanimous decision over Irish world champion Michael Conlan in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, a result that led the Irish boxer to claim that AIBA, the organisers of the Olympic boxing tournament, was a "corrupt" organisation.

Nikitin, a three-time Russian champion, came into the Conlan fight with a bad cut to the left-side of his head and also above his left eye. He suffered the initial cuts during his opening round of 32 bout against Vanuatu’s Boe Warawara.

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Conlan’s punches opened up the cuts during the first round, with Nikitin requiring ringside attention from a doctor on two occasions during the second round.

USA boxing coach Billy Walsh initially broke the news on Wednesday night that Stevenson would go straight to the final, and Russian news agency Tass later quoted a member of the country's boxing delegation confirming the news.

“We eliminate Vladimir (from the tournament), he cannot box because of injuries. He has a dissection and there are some other injuries. His fight against Stevenson will not happen,” the unnamed representative said.