A FUSE LIT inside Jason Quigley as he watched his good friend Michael Conlan ‘robbed out of it by dirty, cheating people’ yesterday in Rio.
Quigley, who is preparation for his 12th professional bout, was training in Los Angeles while Conlan was taking on Russian Vladimir Nikitin in a bantamweight quarter-final at the Olympic Games.
Quigley and Conlan were team-mates in the Irish team before the Ballybofey man turned professional in 2014 and moved to America’s west coast.
Picture caption: Jason Quigley (centre) with Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes following the 2013 European Senior Elite Championships in Minsk.
Quigley saw the anger break out on social media after Nikitin was awarded victory over Conlan on the unanimous decision of the ringside judges.
Conlan blew up on RTÉ afterwards, branding the AIBA, amateur boxing’s world governing body as ‘cheating b******s.
Quigley knew something was amiss after seeing Conlan’s reaction and the Golden Boy Promotions prospect felt sick as he watched the nine minutes of Conlan dominating Nikitin only for the Russian’s hand to be raised.
“It’s disappointing that boxing is this way,” Quigley told Donegal Sport Hub.
“A lot of people are in a lot of ears in amateur boxing. That’s the way the sport is and it looks like it’s going to stay that way. People say that professional boxing is dirty, but it’s nothing like the filth in amateur boxing.
“The problem is that it’s four years until the next one. A lot of people don’t see what goes on or what happens in the four years between the Olympics.
“It’s unbelievable that they’re still getting away with this, especially on a big, live stage like the Olympics, with the whole world tuning in. These people, these judges have responsibility, but the problem is there’s nothing any of us can do about it.
“It’s opinion and all they have to turn around and say is: ‘In my opinion, he won the right’. That is where and why the AIBA have to step in. These people should be put in front of the cameras and told to explain the decisions.
“These are so-called five-star judges. These aren’t just your average judges from the local town hall.
[adrotate group=”37″]“They need to be asked: ‘What was it that got the Russian the decision over Michael Conlan?’ I couldn’t see it and 99 per cent of people couldn’t see it.
“This is what happens when you leave something in the hands of other people. It can always go dodgy.
“These people can be paid off or can be rewarded in some ways. They’re sitting back drinking tea, eating cake, out partying and enjoying life in the Olympic Village. They don’t see the boxers struggling, losing weight, eating nothing. It’s not on and it has to be investigated.”
Quigley turned pro after winning gold at the 2013 European Championships and silver at the World Championships later that year and Conlan is expected to follow him into the pro ranks.
In 2013, Quigley and Conlan holidayed together in Magaluf and have been close since their days in the High Performance Unit.
[adrotate group=”81″]Quigley was seen as a big medal hope after a breakthrough year in 2013, but he decided to forego the Olympic dream in pursuit of glory as a pro and is now 11-0.
“I’m sitting here thinking: ‘Thank God I didn’t hang around for this,” Quigley said of his feelings on missing out on Rio.
“I have my father to thank for that. He was a big advisor in me turning pro. He was shrewd and was switched onto the situation and he knew well the state of amateur boxing too.
“I needed backing and support to turn pro. All roads were leading to Rio.
“That’s where everyone wanted me to go and it would have been easy to follow that path; to stay at home around my family and friends and go for the Olympics. It was a big decision to turn pro.
[adrotate group=”70″]“But it’s not just because I’m watching these fights and these decisions and I’m glad I made this decision. Even if the Irish guys had all gone on to win gold, it was still the right decision, turning pro.
“That was the fire that was burning inside of me. It was the right call, no matter what was going to happen in Rio.
“The only reason I’d say I’d love to be there is to represent my country; of course that would be such a proud moment to got to the Olympics for Ireland.
“But I’m glad I didn’t waste four years of my life, four years of going up and down to Dublin, running off to shitholes for training camps to end up going to Rio and being robbed.”
[adrotate group=”46″]It hasn’t just been Conlan’s defeat that has rocked the boxing world.
Irish coaches fumed after Katie Taylor was adjudged to have been beaten by Finland’s Mira Potkonen in the women’s lightweight quarter-final on Monday.
On Monday night, another Russian, Evgeny Tishchenko, was somehow awarded the heavyweight gold medal after being outfought by Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan.
Former Irish coach Billy Walsh was also left seething. Walsh is now with the USA boxers and saw light-middleweight Gary Russell lose a medal bout against Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov and branded as ‘crazy’ the judging that saw another American, Mikaela Meyer, lose to Anastasia Beliakova – a Russian.
Quigley’s coach, Manny Robles, said ‘it’s a dirty shame what AIBA is doing to the sport of boxing’, but Quigley hasn’t been surprised at what he’s witnessed.
He said: “I don’t know why people are so shocked. It’s the same shite at the Olympic Games, robberies here, there and everywhere.
[adrotate group=”53″]“Look at Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones Junior, back in the day and their robberies. Someone turns around after every Olympic Games and can say that they were robbed.”
Conlan’s defeat means that the Irish boxers will return empty handed from Rio. Quigley believes that the Belfast bantamweight will, eventually, draw on some positives from his dark hour at the Riocentro.
Quigley said: “Michael was the better man and he’ll know that. Michael Conlan did everything he could in that fight. He went in and he out-boxed his opponent.
“He had to fight his opponent and he beat him; he had to box his opponent and he beat him. He proved a lot in that fight. He showed that he can box, that he can fight and that he can change the game plan during a fight.
“He mightn’t see that now because he’ll be so disappointed, but in time he’ll understand that he’s a better person and a bigger man than AIBA people who have broken his dreams.
“He was robbed out of it by dirty, cheating people. It’s sad to watch a friend being treated like that.”
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