Concussionlike symptoms KO Rather; Tabiti eliminated from Boxing Trials

For Brett Rather, fighting consecutive days apparently took its toll as the Las Vegas super heavyweight was not allowed to compete Tuesday at the U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials in Mobile, Ala.

Rather was to face Laron Mitchell of San Francisco in a challengers bracket semifinal. But he threw up in the locker room prior to his fight. After doctors checked him out, he wasn't cleared to fight. Mitchell won by medical disqualification.

"I throw up all the time," Rather said. "I still wanted to fight. But my head feels cooked. I felt spacey, and I felt like I had a concussion. I guess the doctors were looking out for my safety."

Rather, who competes for the UNLV boxing club and went 1-1 at the Trials, said to get this far was an accomplishment. "I've come a long way in a short time," said Rather, who will not be allowed to compete for the next 30 days while under medical suspension.

It also was a tough day for Las Vegas heavyweight Andrew Tabiti, who was eliminated by Joseph Williams of New York 26-14 in a challengers bracket bout.

Tabiti, who went 1-2 at the Trials, once again started slowly and fell behind. But unlike his win Monday over James Shorter where he came from behind in the third round, he couldn't close the gap.

The elimination of Rather and Tabiti leaves just heavyweight Michael Hunter to represent Las Vegas in the competition. Hunter (2-0) faces Jordan Shimmell today in the winners bracket final. If Hunter wins, he'll fight for the gold medal Friday. If he loses, he'll fight Thursday against the survivor of the challengers bracket with the winner of that bout needing to win twice against Shimmell to earn the gold medal.