Irish boxer Michael Conlan expected to win a gold medal at the Rio Olympics. After all, he took home a bronze at the London Games in 2012, and he won the 2015 bantamweight world championship. This was what he tweeted last week.
Now I can see it, I can feel it! #Rio2016 #GOLD pic.twitter.com/e5NMbC5YvB
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) June 14, 2016
So, you can understand why Conlan would be upset at losing by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals to Russian Vladimir Nikitin, meaning Conlan wouldn’t medal at all. But just how pissed was he?
He accused the judges of robbing him, flipping them the bird, and then he went after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Twitter.
Hey Vlad @PutinRF_Eng
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) August 16, 2016
How much did they charge you bro?? @AIBA_Boxing #Rio2016 😘
In case it’s not clear, that’s Conlan insinuating (or jokingly insinuating) that Putin paid off the judges so the Russian fighter would be given a shady decision. But seriously, Conlan was livid with the outcome, as he showcased with this epic double-bird flip…
. @mickconlan11 should have won today according to boxing statistics
— Sunday World (@sundayworld) August 16, 2016
https://t.co/2G2shVbC98 pic.twitter.com/l2eDUDRp4B
…And with his postfight interview.
https://twitter.com/EditinKing/status/765588980540858368
To be fair, the judging at Olympic boxing tournaments oftentimes is hideous. In fact, an American light welterweight named Gary Antuanne Russell apparently was ripped off during his quarterfinals match on Wednesday, meaning he won’t have a chance at a medal either.
Though the punch statistics don’t always tell the tale—it’s not completely unusual for a boxer who threw and landed the most punches in a fight to not be declared the winner—these particular stats are one-sided enough to show that Conlan was most likely correct to be outraged.
@CompuBox stats:Conlan outlanded Nikitin 71-49 in rnds 2 & 3. Conlan avg’d 122 thrown per rnd. #OlympicBoxing pic.twitter.com/Q4AXH73eFM
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) August 16, 2016
So, yeah, Conlan is right. Amateur boxing, much of the time, stinks to the core and it’s not often fair. But then again, life can be the same way.
H/T the Comeback
