Team GB boxer Delicious Orie feels his Olympic gold medal has been “taken away” from him after losing a split decision to Davit Chaloyan.
In the men’s super-heavyweight category, Chaloyan got off to a cautious start, landing some good hooks, but Orie gained the upper hand in the round and took control with some solid jabs.
The contest was even closer in the following rounds, with the Armenian getting the better of the fight, but Orie kept up the good work. Orie then landed some powerful punches in the final round, including a stunning right hook to Chaolian’s face.
However, their Olympic hopes were ended after they lost 3–2 on points, meaning Great Britain have lost all four of their bouts so far and have only two boxers left at the Games.
“I can’t believe it. I’m completely devastated. For the last eight years I’ve been dreaming about an Olympic gold medal and it’s been taken away from me,” Orie admitted.
“It could have happened to me, it could have happened to the judges, but ultimately this is what happened. I feel I have let myself and my family down.”
Did Ori do enough to win?
Orie’s defeat is the latest instance of a British boxer making a controversial early exit, with Rosie Eccles and Charley Davidson also losing by the same margin in their respective weight classes.
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Geraint Hughes explains the controversial exclusion of Team GB’s Charlie Davison and Rosie Eccles from boxing at the Olympics.
Sky Sports News has sought comment from Team GB, and officials are understood to be upset at the split decisions between Eccles and Davidson on the first two days of the competition.
“I’m not a judge so I can’t tell you how it happened,” Orie said. “It’s too early for me to say if it was unfair or fair, whatever. I think I got a little bit hurt, it was too close and I thought that was all I did.
Orie believes he has done enough to win the tie and reach the quarter-finals.
“You could make the same argument for Rosie, you could make the same argument for Charlie, so I knew I had to come in strong and work hard, but at the same time I didn’t want to over-commit myself.
“Ultimately this was the result, I had to accept it with both hands and move on.”
Eccles and Davidson also out of Team GB
Eccles was left in tears after her controversial loss to Poland’s Aneta Rigelska on Sunday. She said the defeat “really shocked” her. The Welsh boxer, who missed the Tokyo Games three years ago because of illness and injury, was knocked out in a 3-2 split decision that sparked booing and jeers around the North Paris Arena.
Rosie Eccles was eliminated early in the women’s 66kg event
“A boxer knows when he’s won a fight,” Eccles said at ringside, holding back tears for a few moments. “I knew I had won the fight, so I’m really shocked. It’s like I’m in a dream right now, but not a big dream.”
Davison, who suffered a split decision loss to former world champion Hatice Akbas earlier in the day, said: “I started slow and picked up the pace at the end, but it wasn’t enough. In the second and third rounds, I increased the pressure and scored with some shots. What more could I have done?”
There are now just two Team GB boxers left at the Olympics. Middleweight Chantelle Reid will face Morocco’s Khadija Mardi – the 2023 world champion – on Wednesday, while light middleweight Lewis Richardson will face Serbia’s Vakhid Abbasov in the last-16 that evening.
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