Irish Olympic Boxer Rages After Loss, Claims Fight Was Fixed

Ireland’s Michael Conlan boxed Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin in a bantamweight quarterfinal at the Rio Olympics this morning, and the three-round bout was a furious one, in which both fighters stood their ground and traded flurries of punches. At the end of the fight, Conlan was sure he had won, and went nuts when the judges awarded a unanimous decision to Nikitin.

Here was Conlan right before the decision was announced:

And here he was a few moments later, giving a double-bird salute to the judges:

Conlan wasn’t finished. After exiting the ring, he did an interview with an Irish TV station and went in on the international boxing federation, claiming the organization had fixed the fight and cheated him out of a medal:

After Conlan’s had some time to cool down, he should meet up with those happy Irish rowers from yesterday. They seem like the kinds of guys who could help someone get over a tough disappointment.