Despite who sits at the helm, some verdicts made in the Olympics boxing can astound to the point they appear improbable. A recent boxing match on Thursday evening saw another infuriating twist in the final outcome, leading to widespread fury amongst spectators at the North Paris Arena who were not affiliated with France, the hosting country, or among the judging panel.
The fallout resulted in Daina Moorehouse missing her shot at advancing from the last 16 of the women’s 50kg category when she was blocked from the win by her French opponent, Wassila Lkhadiri. Moorehouse managed to maintain her composure, even as many acclaimed individuals expressed outrage, as Lkhadiri continued her quest for an Olympic gold.
In a surprising turn of events, the judges joined forces to present Lkhadiri with a split decision victory on a 4-1 score, leading to jubilant cheers from the local crowd. Nonetheless, the delight couldn’t entirely muffle the boos emitted by dissenting attendees.
During the seventh day of the Olympics, Irish representatives set out to make their mark, with Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy contesting for the cup. Simultaneously, boxers Jack Marley and Daina Moorehouse suffered a setback, unable to progress in Paris. Heartbreakingly, Moorehouse’s aspiration for an Olympic victory faced a devastating blow following a highly disputed loss.
Zaur Antia, the chief coach of Ireland’s boxing team, was visibly disgusted with the resolution, throwing his arms in the air in disappointment. Antia later stated: “If you possess a sight, it was apparent: every round was a 5-0 sweep. But when I saw the first round marked as 3-2, the inevitable conclusion was clear.”
The 22-year-old athlete from Enniskerry, who goes by the name “Pocket Rocket”, was put to the test on her Olympic debut against her seemingly invincible adversary—older, taller, and a recipient of the bronze medal at the 2023 World Championship. As the match advanced, it became alarmingly evident that not only Lkhadiri but the judges too were against Moorehouse. They marked the decisive second round 4-1 in Lkhadiri’s favour, a round where Moorehouse appeared to be in total control.
Adding insult to injury, one judge favoured Lkhadiri for the first two rounds, while the other four declared it a tie. Consequently, Moorehouse had to adopt a more aggressive strategy for the final round.
Despite her aggressive stance in the third round and intent to overpower Lkhadiri, Moorehouse was to her surprise, outscored 4-1 by judges in favour of the 28-year-old French pugilist. Her competitors victory left her puzzled as she felt she was not on the losing side. She expected heckling and cheers for her rival from the home crowd, but she believed in her prowess that would get her the favourable judgment if she played it skilfully enough to bypass the judges’ verdict.
Moorehouse thought she wasn’t on the receiving end of any significant hits, and the punches she took were merely minor jabs or irrelevant little hooks over the top. Fired up, she pursued into the third round, determined she would clinch it. She gave it her all.
Jack Marley also extended his full effort against Davlat Boltaev of Tajikistan in his quarter-final match. His aim was for an Irish first-time Olympic medal win in the heavyweight category; however, he too fell short on split decision, reading 4-1, albeit it wasn’t disputed.
Marley, the 21-year-old from Sallynoggin, affiliated with Monkstown Boxing Club, suffered a 4-1 defeat in the first and second rounds. A cut above his right eye was among the injuries. Notwithstanding his relentless fighting spirit, the win was undeniably for the Asian Games champion, a victor already of four professional circuit duels.
Moorehouse’s decision was likened to an incident that stole the semi-final place in Rio in 2016 from Michael Conlan. In that altercation, the excuse for the semi-final no-show by Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin was due to severe injuries. Nonetheless, he received a bronze medal.
Conlan was immediately critical of boxing’s world body AIBA, deeming it “corrupt”, “rotten to the core”, accusing the officials of depraving him of his dream. After AIBA was re-named the World Boxing Federation and was suspended for alleged corruption by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it has since overseen Olympic boxing beginning from Tokyo onwards.
The programme for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles does not include boxing, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC asserts it won’t be in charge of the event and won’t reintroduce it unless the International Boxing Association (IBA) amends its misconducts.
Moorehouse expressed uncertainty about the future of boxing in the Olympics. He acknowledged the inconsistencies in judging and urged for an examination of referees and judges. Moorehouse’s comments followed a disordered match involving Aoife O’Rourke during her 75kg category Olympics run. Aoife’s journey was cut short after a disputed fight against Poland’s Elzbieta Wojcik where the judging lacked consistency.
In the meantime, of the initial ten Irish boxers who participated in the Paris event, only Michaela Walsh and Kellie Harrington remain. Walsh is set to face Bulgaria’s Svetlana Kamenova Staneva in her final 57kg category match this Friday at 2:46 Irish time. On the other hand, Harrington has already secured at least a bronze medal in the lightweight category.