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'We kind of embarrassed the AIBA at the start and maybe we're being punished for that'

Eddie Bolger can’t quite believe how Michael Conlan lost today’s quarter-final bout.

IRISH BOXING COACH Eddie Bolger has suggested his team might have been punished for embarrassing the International Boxing Association (AIBA) over the Michael O’Reilly doping scandal.

Michael Conlan’s controversial defeat this afternoon means the Irish team will return home from the Olympics without a medal for the first time since the 2004 Games.

All seven boxers have been knocked out before the medals have been handed out but the elimination of Conlan and Katie Taylor has left a particularly sour taste in the mouth.

Conlan was robbed of another Olympic bronze as all three judges decided his Russian opponent was the victor in their bantamweight quarter-final, leaving Bolger to wonder were his boxers being punished for what developed before the Games.

“I thought there was only winner, I thought there was only one winner yesterday,” he said. “Something’s afoot. I think the media should highlight it more than us, we can’t really speak.

“There are rumours around the village that names are on the medals already, you don’t believe that or you don’t want to be that naive.

“Again our performances in the ring have been second to none, they’ve been really good. We’ve competed with the best in the world here, there have been a few split decisions and we really can’t control those decisions.

“I’m so proud of Michael Conlan, I’m so proud of Katie yesterday. They’ve held themselves together better than I have. I’m so proud of all the team. This is has been a great Olympics. We’ve learned a lot.

“We kind of embarrassed the AIBA at the start and maybe we’re being punished for that, I don’t know the real reason. It’s just boggling.”

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11 Comments
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    Mute Willy Motley
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    Mar 20th 2019, 4:51 PM

    You made a show of yourself. From the bus incident to this very day. Used to be a massive Mcgregor fan but lost all respect for him at this stage. Wish he’d actually step away from the sport. They should just call him money Mcgregor

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    Mute Bungee Aky
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    Mar 20th 2019, 4:55 PM

    @Willy Motley: all mouth. I never listened to the stuff that went on outside the cage, but watched keenly what happened inside, and there used to be a difference, now he is just a joke inside and outside. He won’t resurrect his career now with all that has happened unless he drops down the weight again.

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    Mute Tom Kenny
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:00 PM

    @Bungee Aky: A fighter that has never successfully defended either title that he won in UFC.. Absolutely joke that he has the name he has..

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    Mute Bungee Aky
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:51 PM

    @Tom Kenny: he did well while he was on the way up, but he cut his own time at the top short and the fall was quicker than the rise. No humility, no class, no longevity. He will be remembered as the best, greatest, brightest flash in the pan that ever happened.

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    Mute Kieran Fogarty
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:27 PM

    He was more interested in promoting his whiskey..how couldnt you give someone like Khabib no respect, the man never lost a round in 20 odd fights

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    Mute Desmond Cassidy
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:05 PM

    Who cares ??

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    Mute Bungee Aky
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:25 PM

    @Desmond Cassidy: you do apparently.

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    Mute Stanley Baggins
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:36 PM

    If Mcgregor gets another crack at Khabib and beats him then he’ll be a big hero again. But he seems to have lost the hunger. He has shown with Nate Diaz that you can never write him off but he seems to have been on a downward spiral since the Mayweather money rolled in.

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    Mute Nollaig Elliot
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:00 PM

    @Stanley Baggins:

    Motivation or not, he’ll never beat Khabib even if he fights him 100 times.

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    Mute Adeel McDangerson
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:00 PM

    @Stanley Baggins: lol not happening.

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    Mute Paul Browne
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    Mar 20th 2019, 11:05 PM

    I will give the guy credit for mouthing his way to the top, but not a nice guy in or outside the octagon/ring, he could of really been an Irish legend but his behavior has made him nothing more then a laughing stock, money won’t buy him class something he is seriously lacking,

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    Mute Dylan Doherty
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    Mar 20th 2019, 7:24 PM

    The money mayweathers ruined him.

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    Mute baw baw
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    Mar 21st 2019, 10:36 AM

    Aldo done it for 10 years and was caught naively in 13 seconds as he was beyond wound up.
    McGregor lauded his own talking game and aldo never got his rematch shot.
    McGregor says he was caught in a fight where he wasn’t up to much and ended in his second loss and should get a rematch just because.
    With his stardust waning and a bit of perspective its easier for people to see hes the Kardashian of UFC , took on a persona popular with the majority and played it expertly through modern media.
    A distasteful genius with talent in all the wrong places.May he and the rest of the kardashian culture be plagued with no privacy and a life in the public eye for selling there souls for a few million quid.

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    Mute Sean
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    Mar 21st 2019, 11:58 AM

    @baw baw: @baw baw: To write McGregor off as nothing more than Khardasian culture is a bit revisionist, while in recent times he has become a mere parody of himself, it would be foolish to discard how good he was at his peak.

    His persona only became what it was through his huge performances on the biggest stage. Against both Mendes and Aldo he heaped pressure on himself by talking a big and confident game and backed it up in the octogon. Without those performances his quick wit would have been nothing more than a cheap novelty. He has proven himself against a lot of top fighters and his lose to Khabib doesn’t take anything away from that.

    I do however agree that he is not entitled to an immediate rematch and nor should he want one, he needs to tune up, get a few wins under his belt and his head back in the game before he could pose any threat to Khabib.

    The idea that he could come back after two years on the session and beat him in the first place was ludicrous and thinking he could jump straight back in with him now is even more so.

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