Olympic boxing embroiled in controversy: "They're all corrupt"
World amateur boxing champion Michael Conlan branded judges "corrupt" after a points decision went controversially in favour of his Russian opponent
An Irish amateur world champion accused Olympic boxing of corruption on Tuesday as the sport was embroiled in fresh controversy barely 12 hours after a Russian was booed to the podium.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) vehemently rejected the accusations after a seething Michael Conlan was turfed out of the competition in a surprise unanimous points decision to another Russian, the bantamweight Vladimir Nikitin.
Boxing had initially closed ranks after heavyweight Evgeny Tishchenko won gold on Monday in a debatable decision that drew derision and jeers from the arena, even as the giant Russian collected his gold medal in Rio.
Conlan wagged his finger in the air as the judges' decision was announced and for a while refused to leave the ring, tearing off his top and flexing his muscles defiantly to a sympathetic crowd that cheered him in return.
Conlan, 24, who had been heavily fancied for a medal in Rio, eventually clambered out of the ring and hurled abuse to at least one of the judges, branding one of them corrupt, while also having strong words with the referee and officials.
The irate Irishman struggled to contain his anger after the quarter-final, as a trail of blood trickled down his face.
"AIBA are corrupt"
"AIBA are corrupt," he said, his face twitching with rage and his voice quivering. "They've robbed me of my Olympic dream. I said before that I was going to be Olympic champion. I was boxing the ears off him. I don't know how it went against me. I watched Russia last night in the final and by all means Kazakhstan beat him and didn't get the decision.
"The judges are corrupt, it's as simple as that. I'll never box in an AIBA competition again. Corruption runs deep. You saw by his reaction that he knew he didn't win," Conlan added of Nikitin.
The allegations were immediately rejected by boxing's governing body. "Micheal is a current world champion and he came here with high expectations," said an AIBA spokesman. "His disappointment is massive, we can all understand that. It's his personal judgment. AIBA is striving for a fair, level-playing field. The idea is not to benefit one country towards another. These statement are foundless but he's free to have his opinion."