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Irish Olympic Boxer Goes on Profane Tirade After He Gets Jobbed Out of Win

Irish olympic boxer Michael Conlan unleashed a string of profanities after he lost a controversial match in Rio.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Irish boxer Michael Conlan went off on the judges and the Amateur International Boxing Association after he lost his fight to Russian Vladimir Nikitin in the bantamweight tournament at the Rio Olympics. Immediately after the decision was announced, he flipped off the ringside judges and then called AIBA "fucking cheats," among other things, in his post-match comments.

Rant and a half by Michael Conlan #boxing pic.twitter.com/dJFtAavfVZ
— Conor Duffy. (@duffbag) August 16, 2016

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Here's a partial transcription, if you're having difficulty hearing through the brogue and intense hatred:

"I'll never box for AIBA again; they're cheating bastards. They're paying everybody,' he said in his post-fight interview with RTE.

"I don't give a fuck if I'm cursing on TV.

"I was here to win Olympic gold. My dream's been shattered now but you know what, I've a big career ahead of me and these ones, they're known for being cheats and they'll always be cheats.

"Amateur boxing stinks from the core right to the top."

To most observers, Conlan appeared to win the first round, but all three judges awarded it to Nikitin by a 10-9 score. Conlan then won the second round, before again dropping the third to the Russian. Conspiracy theories abound, and fellow Irish boxer Paddy Barnes's father come right out and said it was rigged when he told the Irish sports blog Joe that the Russians actually told him that they knew they were going to win the match before it even happened.

The loss stings even more, because Conlan was Ireland's last hope for a medal in boxing. Just one day earlier, the reigning gold medalist, Katie Taylor, was also bounced in a controversial decision. After that fight, her coach Eddie Bolger went on a bit of a tirade of his own, though he chose not to work blue like Conlan.

"It's up to you guys [in the media to report] this is happening, [because] this happens a lot. It happened more often … That fight wasn't even close. You can make it close, you can add it up and you can do it, but it wasn't close. It's a shocking decision. All the place knows it."

While that decision was shocking, the Irish are even more incensed about Conlan's fight. So much so that one sports book is going to not only pay out on him winning today's fight but also on him winning gold.

We're paying out on Michael Conlan to win #Gold at #Rio2016 & to win his fight today against Nikitin after that shocking decision. #Justice
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 16, 2016