An AIBA spokesman denied allegations of corruption, saying: "It's his personal judgement. All I can say is that AIBA is striving for a fair, level playing field.
"The idea is not to benefit one country towards another, we represent 200 national federations. These statements are groundless, but he's free to have his opinion."
Irish boxer Michael Conlan gives two-finger salute to judges, Olympic boxing after defeat
At the conclusion of Irish bantamweight Michael Conlan’s quarterfinal bout in the 2016 Olympic Games, his handlers did what handlers do and removed the gloves he had used to battle Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin.
That turned out to be not such a good idea.
Because when the controversial decision was awarded to Nikitin, Conlan extended his middle fingers toward the judges. He was not telling them they were No. 1 in his book.
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“They’re f—ing cheats,†Conlan said afterward. “They’re known for being cheats. Amateur boxing stinks from the core right to the top.â€
As the arena announcer called, “Ladies and gentleman, the winner by unanimous decision …†Conlan raised his left arm — the one not held by the referee — into the air. But he had been in Brazil long enough to understand “azul†meant blue. That was Nikitin’s corner. Conlan dropped his arm and shoulders in disgust, yelled “f—off†and then twirled about giving the middle-finger salute to the judges.
Conlan also had some thoughts about who put the supposed fix in. He tweeted Monday at Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Amateur International Boxing Association, asking, "How much did they charge you bro?"
Judging controversy has often plagued the Olympics. Japan's Satoshi Shimizu knocked down Azerbaijan's Magomed Abdulhamidov five times in one round of a London 2012 fight, for instance, but Abdulhamidov was still somehow awarded the round. The decision was reversed on appeal and Shimizu won the bout. But this received significant attention considering a 2011 BBC report that indicated it had found evidence Azerbaijan had paid $9 million to an international boxing organization for guaranteed gold medals.