MICHAEL CONLAN, an Irish bantamweight boxer, was understandably displeased by his loss to Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin in an Olympic quarter-final on August 16th. Mr Conlan (pictured, in red), the current world champion and a bronze medallist at London 2012, had landed more punches than Mr Nikitin (in blue) and dominated two of the bout’s three rounds. Yet all three judges awarded victory to the blood-soaked Russian. Steve Bunce, who often commentates on boxing for the BBC, described the decision as “disgraceful”.
Mr Conlan called the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA), the sport’s governing body, “cheats” live on Irish television, adding expletives for good measure. Mr Nikitin’s face was left so badly injured that he cannot compete in the next round. His scheduled opponent, America’s Shakur Stevenson, has been awarded a walkover to the final (and a guaranteed silver medal).
The heavyweight final a...Continue reading