Britain's Orie steers clear of judging controversy after defeat

PARIS : British boxer Delicious Orie on Monday opted not to criticise the judging in his controversial loss to Davit Chaloyan at the Paris Olympics, saying he had allowed the Armenian to land a few good shots in the super heavyweight bout.

The fight was delicately poised with Orie leading 2-0 on the scoresheet heading into the final round, before being judged to have lost a tight third round and ultimately losing the bout 3-2 on split decision.

Orie's defeat means that Britain's first four fighters to compete at the Paris Olympics have all been eliminated, with Charley Davison and Rosie Eccles also losing by similar margins.

Asked if the judging was unfair, Orie said: "I think I let a few eye-catching shots in. I noticed it during the round. I didn't think it was enough for him to win, but the judges have clearly seen that.

"I just have to take it on the chin and move on. I'm not really the one to say. I'm not a judge, so I can't really tell you which way it went. I think it's too soon for me to start saying it's unfair or fair, whatever it is. I do think I was a little bit hard done by.

"It was very close, and I feel like I did enough. You can argue the same for Rosie. You can argue the same for Charley. I knew that I had to go in there strong and hard, but at the same time, I didn't want to over-commit myself."

A dejected Orie added that the defeat left a sour taste ahead of his planned move into professional boxing.

"For the past eight years, I've always joked about that gold medal and the Olympic Games, and it's been taken away from me. It could be (because of) me. It could be from the judges," Orie said.

"At the end of the day, that's what's happened. I felt like I've let myself down, my family."