Olympics-Boxing-France's Mossely sent packing by Gonzalez, Britain's Davison out

By Aadi Nair

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Rio Olympics gold medallist Estelle Mossely was eliminated from the women's lightweight competition by newcomer Jajaira Gonzalez on Saturday, while Britain's Charley Davison lost as the Paris Olympics boxing got under way.

Frenchwoman Mossely started on the front foot but was quickly overwhelmed by American Gonzalez, who took charge of the bout in the second round and did not look back.

"It might sound a little cocky, but I don't fear anybody. I don't care what they've won, what they've done," Gonzalez said.

British veteran Davison had a poor first round in her bantamweight bout but moved up a couple of gears in the last two rounds, though she could not avoid defeat by a 3-2 split decision in a close contest at the North Paris Arena.

"The last two rounds I definitely upped my pressure, scored the shots," said an emotional Davison, who intends to retire after the Olympics.

"What more could I do? I thought this game was about scoring shots and she was just throwing singles and running.

"It's disappointing obviously, the decision, but maybe I could have started faster in the first round. Then again, you can't just rush out because these opponents are the best in the world."

Boxing powerhouse Cuba scored their first win of the tournament, with men's lightweight boxer Erislandy Alvarez putting on a fearsome display of punching power in a win over Papua New Guinea's John Ume.

Alvarez knocked Ume to the floor before the referee stopped the contest in the second round.

BATTLING WIN

Earlier on Saturday, Jordan's Obada Alkasbeh cut short Dean Clancy's campaign for Ireland with a battling win.

Clancy, looking to secure a first men's boxing gold medal for Ireland since 1992, allowed Alkasbeh to chase him around the ring early on, but flagged quickly in the second round and lost the lightweight bout 3-2.

Alkasbeh, who had a point deducted for his aggression in the round of 32 clash, next has a tough meeting with Rio Olympics silver medallist Sofiane Oumiha of France.

In a promising first session for Taiwan, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Huang Hsiao-wen kicked off proceedings with a unanimous win over Montenegrin Bojana Gojkovic in a women's bantamweight bout.

Huang will next meet former world champion Stanimira Petrova of Bulgaria in the last 16.

Thailand's Jutamas Jitpong, a losing quarter-finalist in Tokyo, beat Serbian Sara Cirkovic, while Huang's compatriot Wu Shih Yi won her lightweight opener against Oh Yeon-ji of South Korea.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Paris; Editing by Ken Ferris)