French super-heavyweight Mourad Aliev bizarrely claimed he was the victim of "an act of sabotage" as he staged a sit-down protest after being disqualified from his Olympic quarter-final.
Aliev was fighting Great Britain's Frazer Clarke when their tussle was stopped by referee Andrew Mustacchio in the second round at the Kokugikan Arena.
He was punished for use of the head but complained that he had not been warned by the referee before the fight was halted.
Aliev said: "I sat down to protest against the unfairness for me. I really wanted to fight against the injustice, so that was my way to show that I don't agree with that decision."
He had won the first round on three of the five judges' scorecards and said of his sudden elimination: "I was just stopped without any warning and they just told me that 'you lost' – just like that. So I think it was an act of sabotage.
"I fought my whole life. I prepared my whole life for this event, so getting mad for something like that is natural."
Clarke described the situation as "a bit confusing" and urged Aliev to rein in his complaints.
"I didn't want him to damage his reputation or to be rude to the judges and officials, because they're only doing their job," Clarke said.
Aliev was allowed to carry out his protest as the fight was the last on the schedule in Sunday's opening session, meaning it caused no delays.
"I felt there was a couple of heads going in there if I'm honest," Clarke said. "Whether it's intentional or not I don't know. Orthodox boxing a southpaw, it often happens.
"I'm not going to stand here and say that he did it on purpose because I'm sure that he wouldn't have wanted to have finished his Olympics the way that it has."
French boxing team general manager John Dovi protested: "The Englishman was cut with regular punches, not the head. Mourad therefore received a totally unjustified warning."
PICTURE PERFECT FOR WHITTAKER
Britain had a strong day at the boxing, with Ben Whittaker reaching the light-heavyweight final after a majority points verdict against hard-punching Russian Imam Khataev.
He will face Arlen Lopez of Cuba in Wednesday's final. Lopez won middleweight gold at the Rio Olympics.
Whittaker explained his pre-fight inspiration, saying: "My coach, every Christmas he used to buy me a Muhammad Ali photo from the Olympics when he's standing on the podium and he had the gold medal at 81kg.
"He said, 'This is going to be you'.
"Just before I came into the arena he sent me the photo and said, 'It's time, baby'. I replied back, 'It is time'.
"I’ve got the chance to do it now. Every kid's dream as an amateur is getting to that Olympic final and now I've got to change that colour to gold."
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
Turkey's Buse Naz Cakiroglu guaranteed herself at least bronze by reaching the flyweight semi-finals, seeing off Thailand's Jutamas Jitpong by unanimous verdict.
The World Championship silver medallist considered it a victory for herself and the future of boxing in her homeland.
And if it means a little less of a quiet life when she returns, then the boxer who is affiliated to the Fenerbahce sports club is prepared to accept that.
"We were already on this road by getting good scores, good results in the European Championship, World Championship and there are little girls that come to my house to get my signature," she said.
"I believe that by getting successful in the Olympics, this will increase and we will inspire more little girls."
CUBAN TEST FOR McCORMACK
Britain's Pat McCormack was handed a free pass through to the welterweight final after Irish opponent Aidan Walsh pulled out of their last-four clash with an ankle injury.
Blocking the path to the gold medal will be Cuban Roniel Iglesias, who won light welterweight gold at the London 2012 Olympics.
Although both are experienced fighters, this will be their first clash, and the stakes could hardly be any higher.
"No, I never fought against him," Iglesias confirmed. "That is interesting that it will be the final of the Olympics, so I will just try to win."
JBA stages 1st fight card for 2024
The Jamaica Boxing Association staged its long awaited first fight card for 2024 with four fights and an exhibition bout on Saturday at the Stanley Couch Gym in Kingston. It was an all amateur fight card under the banner Gloves Over Guns Futures Programme.
Three of the four fights went to the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) whose boxers looked well prepared and physically fitter than their opponents. Arguably the fight of the night was the final (elite) bout between Delano McLaughlin of the JDF and Kirk-Patrick Heron of the Port Antonio Gym in a light heavyweight match-up. Both fighters were very determined while going all three rounds of three minutes each. At times they traded blow for blow while taking some big punches but in the end McLaughlin landed more hits and was adjudged the winner.
The first JDF boxer to enter the ring was Gervin Garrison in a light heavyweight matchup with Sadeki Harris of GC Foster Gym. Both boxers got busy immediately but Garrison soon showed that he was the better fighter with cleaner punches and was more agile around the ring. Harris took a lot of punishment and showed a lot of heart to stay toe to toe with Garrison but just did not have the strength to throw some winning punches as Garrison came out the clear winner.
That fight gave way to another JDF match-up between with Shawn Morgan in a lop-sided super heavyweight face off with Vernando McKenzie of Funrobics Gym. McKenzie entered the ring confidently but could not handle the force and speed of Morgan. He faced referee Wayne Roberts count more than once in the less than two rounds that he was in the ring, as Roberts eventually stopped the fight midway in the second round.
The only boxer out of the blue corner to record a win on the night was Mark-Andre Mendez of Control Strike Gym against Hammid Gordon of Funrobics Gym. They put on a spirited light middleweight show for the crowd but Mendez sent down more punches and was definitely under less pressure in the ring.
The opening action on the night was an entertaining exhibition bout which went to Alex Grant of Suga Gym over Crishaun McPherson of Funrobics Gym. They were the youngest boxers on show at just fourteen years old.
Stephen Bomber Jones, president of the Jamaica Boxing Association was pleased with the response from the boxing community. “I am very encouraged. I am extremely encouraged by what I saw. I am more encouraged also by the response by the boxers, the gyms and the managers themselves because tonight represents what they have been asking for, at least an answer, one of the answers for what they have been asking for. They have had their boxers training without being able to showcase their skills so this gives a platform to answer that so I am very happy.”
He also said ‘the last Saturday of every month we intend to have the same show but going forward it won’t just be amateurs. We want this platform to be from the most novice boxer which is our grassroot boxers – children, the elite amateurs – those that will over the next couple of years give the activities so that they can represent us internationally and also those boxers who want to turn pro, we give them this platform to have monthly bouts so that they can build a professional record so that they can be the choice of boxers that we carry around the island. The public deserves the best boxers when we do the Fight Night Series so this will be kind of be a feeder programme into the Series. The best boxers, the best amateurs and the best professionals that come out of this we will showcase around the island.”
The fight card was sponsored by Pepsi, S&G Road Surfacing, Vere Events, Locker room Sports and Creative Sports
Joshua 'rolled the dice, but came up short' in Dubois defeat
Anthony Joshua is likely to call for a rematch against Daniel Dubois, having conceded he "came up short" after he "rolled the dice" in Saturday's bout at Wembley Stadium.
In front of a record-breaking, 96,000 crowd that had been further geed up by a performance from Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, it was Dubois who turned in a supersonic display on Saturday.
Joshua saw his hopes of clinching the IBF heavyweight title slide away as Dubois dominated from the off, before delivering the knockout blow in round five.
Some pundits suggested this should be the end for Joshua, though the 34-year-old insisted he is not planning on stopping any time soon.
"Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short," he told DAZN.
"You know I'm ready to kick off in the ring, but I'm going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent.
"I'm always saying to myself I'm a fighter for life... We keep rolling the dice.
"I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that's the game."
Promoter Eddie Hearn, meanwhile, claimed Joshua would likely take up the option of a rematch.
"I'm sure he'll exercise that rematch clause, it's a given, it's a dangerous fight because he's growing in confidence all the time but he'll believe he can beat him," Hearn told DAZN.
Dubois, though, will likely want to turn his attention to facing the victor out of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, with their rematch set to take place in December in Saudi Arabia.
'Gladiator' Dubois desperate for 'redemption' after brutal Joshua knockout
Daniel Dubois does not want his "redemption story" to stop after dominating Anthony Joshua to reclaim his IBF heavyweight title.
Oleksandr Usyk vacated his IBF belt, labelling it as a present for the fight between Joshua and Dubois, the latter taking the title by default.
Dubois left no doubts over the merit of his belt on Saturday, though, delivering a brutal fifth-round knockout blow to Joshua in front of a record-breaking crowd for the all-British clash at Wembley Stadium.
Speaking on DAZN after an impressive triumph, Dubois addressed the record-breaking crowd: "I've only got a few things to say, are you not entertained?!
"It's been a journey and I'm grateful to be in this position. I'm a gladiator, I'm a warrior until the bitter end. I want to get to the top of this sport and reach my full potential.
"Behind the scenes, the work with my dad. I've been on a rollercoaster run, this is my time, this is my redemption story. I'm not going to stop until I reach my full potential."
Tyson Fury and Usyk are set for a Riyadh rematch in December, though Dubois will be waiting in the wings for a shot at the heavyweight pair.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn immediately suggested his fighter will seek to activate a rematch clause with Dubois, however.
Whether Joshua can recover from this defeat remains to be seen, having been sent spiralling to the canvas multiple times, including in the opening round.
Joshua appeared to have found a way back into the bout in the fifth, only for Dubois to land a crucial right-hand finisher, much to his understandable delight.
"I am the man," he added to Sky Sports. "A mix of emotions. I can't say too much right now. I'm fighting to get all the glory. To me, I'm the hunter and I need to hunt."
As for his next fight, Dubois is dreaming big, adding: "All of the best, maybe Usyk [for] a big shot at my redemption. Anyone can get it."
Frank Warren echoed Dubois' sentiment, with the Queensbury promoter eyeing another shot at Usyk for Dubois, who lost to the Ukrainian in August last year.
"It was a phenomenal fight and I always felt it would be a [Marvin] Hagler versus [Thomas] Hearns situation," Warren told DAZN. "AJ showed his heart right until the end. It was a brilliant fight.
"I always felt Dubois would do it and he has. It's not a turnaround, it was there. He was a young man and had double fractures in his eyes, he couldn't fight. He hurt him [Usyk], I'd like to see him fight him now but he has to fight Tyson now.
"Everyone here has seen a champion's performance. He's done everything you could ask for. AJ caught him with a shot over there and I was worried. He's a young man and on top of his game, he can improve."
WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker also put his name into the hat to face Dubois, with Fury and Usyk not set to meet until later this year, which would keep any challenger waiting.
"If he [Dubois] wants to get it on then let's go," Parker said on DAZN immediately after the result.
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