THE Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has called for a review of the scoring and judging process currently used in amateur boxing.
Michael Conlan’s controversial defeat this afternoon in the men’s bantamweight quarter-final by Russian Vladimir Nikitin was one of a series of questionable results that have marred boxing at this summer’s Olympic Games.
His exit means that Ireland will go home without a medal from the ring, having travelled to Rio with high hopes for a number of fighters including Conlan, Katie Taylor and Paddy Barnes.
In a statement released tonight, the IABA called for a review of how fights are scored.
“The IABA fully understands the frustration expressed by our athletes and coaches regarding the outcome of some of the bouts at the Games particularly given the split decisions that went against three of our athletes, the casting decision which saw Katie lose and the controversy around Michael Conlan’s defeat earlier today.
“We do not have an option to appeal decisions at the Olympic Games. IABA do however believe that in light of events in Rio, it is in the best interests of amateur Olympic boxing that the scoring and judging process is reviewed. We will look to work with other national federations and AIBA to ensure that this happens,” said the statement.
The IABA also say that they will be scrutinising their own performance, with a report due by the end of this year.
“The nature of international sport is that it is continuously evolving. With that in mind we will be conducting a review of the entire High Performance Programme for the four years from London 2012 to Rio 2016 and will publish the outcome of that review later this year.
“An imperative of the review will be to establish that the systems supporting our zero-tolerance approach to doping in sport are in line with international best practice.
“This review forms part of a larger strategic review of the IABA, to ensure the further growth and development of Irish boxing at all levels, which is currently underway and that we hope to have ready for publication in December.”
