IRISH gold medal hope Paddy Barnes has suggested he may have fought at his last Olympic Games after yesterday’s devastating last 16 exit to Spain’s Samuel Carmona in Rio.
The north Belfast fighter was reported to have told several media outlets in the aftermath of yesterday’s shock exit that he would not be staying around for Tokyo 2020, and talk of a possible move to the professional ranks is likely to grow louder in the coming weeks and months.
If it is the 29-year-old’s last appearance at an Olympic Games, this was not the way he would have wanted to exit the stage where he made his name.
Barnes won a bronze medal in Beijing eight years ago, and added another bronze four years later, losing to nemesis Zou Shiming at the semi-final stage on both occasions.
Having carried the Irish flag at Friday night’s opening ceremony at Rio’s famous Maracana Stadium, and been named team captain, the stage appeared set for the Holy Family star to land that elusive gold at the third attempt.
However, Carmona – ranked 26 in the world – had other ideas. The 20-year-old Spaniard meant business against the gold medal favourite and took a majority decision after a gruelling, all-action three rounds.
Barnes looked uncharacteristically tired from early on, and blamed his lacklustre performance on his struggle to get down to the 49 kilogram weight limit.
“I thought I could’ve won it with the higher work-rate and cleaner shots, but I think the judges looked at me and realised how tired I was,” he said.
“To be honest, I shouldn’t even be fighting at this weight. It’s so hard getting down to it – in the second round I had nothing left. I don’t even know how I threw that many punches because I had absolutely nothing left to give.
“Midway through the first round I was dead – I was gone. I had no energy whatsoever. I was favourite for gold and I genuinely believed I would come away with a gold medal. Even if they had given me that fight, in the next fight I would’ve been hammered again because I had no energy.
“It’s just as well I got beat because I would’ve been embarrassed in my next fight.”
The combination of an early weigh-in and early fight – Barnes entered the ring at 11.45am Rio time – will have left little opportunity for rehydration, and was doubtless a contributing factor as he struggled with the relentless pace.
But there have been signs that making the light-flyweight limit was becoming increasingly difficult for Barnes. On the eve of the 2013 World Championships, he opted to enter at the 52kg flyweight limit after Michael Conlan’s switch to bantamweight.
And coming into these Olympics, Barnes hadn’t fought competitively at 49kg since securing his spot in Rio through the World Series of Boxing (WSB) 16 months ago. Even during that WSB campaign, there were issues making weight.
Barnes added: “It’s always hard for me to make weight but this time, because I’m training differently… I’m 58 kilo and I fight at 49 kilo, so there were questions and doubts about whether I would make the weight – and I just made it. I’d no energy at it.
“This morning will be the last time I make 49 kilo anyway, ever. It’s too hard to maintain it.”
