Its safe to say Irish bantamweight boxer Mick Conlan didn’t take his loss on Tuesday to Russian boxer Vladamir Nikitin very well.
Conlan was bounced from the Olympic tournament in the quarterfinals thanks to a unanimous decision. Some disagreed with the judges’ decision, including Conlan, who gave the judges the middle finger and went on a tirade on both Twitter and in his post-match interview.
Conlan came into Rio as a boxer with a chance to at least medal in his division. The Irish boxer took bronze in 2012 as a flyweight and was the 2015 World Champion in the bantamweight division. Conlan’s loss was met with disappointment and anger, starting with the broadcast (a lot of bad language in this clip, FYI).
@mickconlan11 reaction to being robbed at the Olympics @KOKINGS4 @TheFightGuru @SportsRecall @BoxingExchange pic.twitter.com/bIyAXzVSMS
— EditinKing Boxing (@EditinKing) August 16, 2016
Conlan continued on Twitter following the match.
Hey Vlad @PutinRF_Eng
How much did they charge you bro?? @AIBA_Boxing #Rio2016
From watching the fight, many in the audience believed Conlan had a legitimate gripe with the judging process. There were a few jokes also made along the way.
Gutted to hear about the @mickconlan11 result. Genuine gold medal hope & had his dream shattered by bad scoring
And the @IABABOXING judges give the round to Sunny Liston #boxing #MichaelConlan pic.twitter.com/TBgXei9JBG
— brian hickey (@brianhickey18) August 16, 2016
.@mickconlan11's judging panel at Rio REVEALED!#Boxing #IRL pic.twitter.com/V4dYayc02F
— BoyleSports (@BoyleSports) August 16, 2016
It just seems that Russia cannot escape controversy in these Olympics. Whether it was doping charges before the Games or during a race in the pool, the country’s sketchy practices have definitely been exposed in Rio.