Kiwi boxer David Nyika has seen his hopes of a gold-medal threepeat dashed, with a hand injury ruling him out of this month's Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The defending heavyweight champion from Gold Coast 2018 also took out the light-heavyweight division at Glasgow four years earlier and was shooting for a piece of Games history.
But Nyika, 26, bruised bone marrow in his left hand during his fourth professional fight on the Gold Coast last week and faces a six-week recovery that rules him out of the NZ team.
"I'm absolutely gutted to be missing out on the Games," said Nyika. "I still haven't fully got my head around it.
"It is always an honour competing for New Zealand and I was really looking forward to trying to clinch a third gold in Birmingham."
Nyika captured a bronze medal at last year's Tokyo Olympics, where he was also an NZ flagbearer at the opening ceremony, but has also embarked on his pro career, now undefeated after four bouts.
He stopped Louis Marsters in the second round in his most recent appearance, but sustained the hand injury in the process.
Meanwhile, Emile Richardson has been added to the NZ boxing squad for the U75kg middleweight division.
"There's only one goal and that's to win the gold medal," said Richardson. "I'm really looking forward to being at such a pinnacle event and competing against some of the best athletes in the world."
