Written by Steve Bunce
RIO was weird.
Michael Conlan was the number one seed for the Rio Olympics at bantamweight. It seems like a long time ago.
Vladimir Nikitin was eighth, Shakur Stevenson was fourth and Robeisy Ramirez was sixth. It was not going to be an easy weight to win. In the end, Ramirez had to fight five times for the gold; the news was elsewhere.
Floyd Mayweather was everywhere at Pavilion 6 in the Riocentro. He kept popping up through doors and other random places; Mayweather buys Stevenson. He's still there, I think.
The Rio Olympics boxing tournament was a disaster in many ways. The cries of corruption, we found out a few years later, are all true. As a result of the two weeks of chaos, boxing at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 has not been confirmed. Actually, right now, it won't be an Olympic game in Los Angeles and that's because of what happened in Rio. It's that simple – old-school crooks, with their shady Cold War agendas ran it, destroyed it and now claim innocence.
Conlan waved goodbye and beat Armenia's Aram Avagyan. He was in the quarter-finals, and he was supposed to meet an old rival, Nikitin. At the world championships in Kazakhstan in 2103, Nikitin had beaten Conlan in the quarter finals. It couldn't be easier. Never.
Nikitin had won twice; an easy win and a good win for Butdee Chatchai, who had defeated Qais Ashfaq in the opening match. Nikitin was marked and cut and had braces on the left side of the head to keep the gash from opening. I'm not making this up – it was bloody and gruesome.
Stevenson had beaten Brazil and got Mongolia in the quarters. That's a decent way for any fighter, trust me. He looked fresh and young, and Mayweather was sitting by his side.
Ramirez had beaten India and Morocco to set up his quarterfinal against the third seed, Jiawei Zhang of China. Meanwhile, the feared second seed, Murodjon Akhmadaliev sailed in. That's a lot of good, good men looking to crash.
In 2015, Conlan won the European and World Championships and beat Akhmadaliev in the Worlds final in Doha. That is why he was the first seed. And that's why he had so much pressure on his shoulders.
On the day of the quarter, Stevenson beat Mongolia, Akhmadaliev stopped Argentina and Ramirez turned a deaf ear to Zhang. Three past and just a grudge fight to decide the fourth. Like I said, it wasn't going to be easy. What a day that was, Joe Joyce beat Bakhodir Jalolov. A brilliant view.
Conlan won the first one in style. At the end of the round, he discovered – thanks to Paddy Barnes, his best friend – that he was actually down on all three cards. His father, John, who was in the corner, got the news about the score and said to Michael: “You have to go forward.”
It was a change of plan, but Conlan was strong enough to join Nikitin. There had been a group discussion the night before and Conlan had been told he could stop Nikitin. In the second he went ahead, it was a draw, and he won that round. Then it was the third and there was a feeling in the hall, a bad feeling.
Conlan features Nikitin in Action Images for their popular team
In my mind I thought the third one was close, but five years ago I sat down with Conlan and watched the fight again. Conlan takes one last breath. He's waiting for a decision, but he doesn't look confident – points in, and you're out. The Olympic dream is over.
Nikitin's wound on the left side of his head, the one with the metal is bleeding, and there is a fresh cut on the left eye that is bleeding. He looks more like a loser than any winner I've ever seen. In the ring, with his hand at his side, Conlan is there rage to the point of violence.
“I wanted to spit on the judges – I spat on them all and told them they ruined my dream,” Conlan told me.
Conlan left the ring and now regrets it. Nikitin is still jumping and smiling.
“I wish I stayed in the ring and sat down – that would have been a good protest,” Conlan said. There was a series of heated and angry discussions. Conlan attacked from the heart.
There was talk of an investigation in Rio, but the appeals process was withdrawn from London. If there had been an appeal process, I truly believe Conlan would have been declared the winner and justice would have been served. It was so straightforward, no argument for interpretation. Conlan was out of Rio and out of junior boxing. He left behind a few images and some names – both of which contributed to the global effort to change the image of the young boxer.
Vladimir Nikitin of Russia earned a controversial decision against Conlan at the Olympics Action Images/Peter Cziborra
Nikitin was ruled out by the doctor and could not fight in the semis. Conlan was not allowed to re-enter; Stevenson then had a bye in the finals. It was a bad time to be close to the action. In the finals, Ramirez beat Stevenson. It was strong, but not as strong as people like to think.
That's the main story from Olympic boxing in Rio. It is a tale of despair, corruption and heartache. In 2019, Conlan met Nikitin at Madison Square Garden and it was closed again, this time the right man won. It was a form of revenge.
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