American bantamweight Shakur Stevenson is moving on to the gold-medal final at the Rio Olympics.

Stevenson, who dazzled in decision wins in his first two Olympic fights, was supposed to face Vladimir Nikitin of Russia in the semifinals on Thursday. But Nikitin was so battered by Ireland's Michael Conlan in his controversial decision win on Tuesday that he withdrew from the tournament.

That gave Stevenson a walkover to the finals of the 123-pound weight class. He will face fellow southpaw Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba for the gold medal on Saturday afternoon.

Ramirez, 22, won the flyweight gold medal at the 2012 London Games before moving up in weight for the Rio Games.

Shakur Stevenson reached the bantamweight final at the Rio Olympics, where he'll try to become the first American boxer to win gold since Andre Ward in 2004. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Stevenson, 19, of Newark, New Jersey, has the opportunity to win the first men's boxing gold medal for Team USA since Andre Ward -- now an undefeated, dominant professional -- won the light heavyweight gold at the 2004 Athens Games.

"I'm ready to put on a show and we're about to turn this place out. I think it's about to be a great matchup," said Stevenson, who was cheered on by Floyd Mayweather during his quarterfinal victory.

"We've got the 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, a great fighter, and you've got the up-and-coming, rising superstar from USA. We're about put on a show and I plan on coming out victorious."

Stevenson heard about Nikitin's withdrawal from the tournament on Wednesday night, but had to wait for the official notification of the walkover on Thursday morning, when they were supposed to weigh in for the semifinal bout.

"I found out [Wednesday], but I wasn't really too sure, so I had to stay in the mindset that I'm fighting," Stevenson said. "I got up, went to weigh-ins and once I weighed in, they told me that I'm not fighting."

Stevenson said has spent a lot of time studying video of Ramirez, who won a unanimous decision against Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan in their semifinal match on Thursday.

"I came up watching Robeisy in the Olympics. It's work time, just me and him, mano y mano," Stevenson said. "I've watched a lot of his fights. I know what I'm in for. He's a great fighter. I definitely watched his fight [Thursday]. I paid close attention to it. He had a tough opponent from Uzbekistan and he got it done.

"I'm competitive, so I like competitive fights. I like being in the ring with people that I think are good. For an Olympic gold medal, it's going to be a great fight. I promise. It's going to be two talented, skillful fighters and we're going to see who's going to come out on top."