Welsh boxing sensation Rosie Eccles was left in tears after a controversial split decision saw her exit the women’s 66kg boxing competition in the last 32 at the Olympics.
Despite dominating the three-round bout and benefiting from her opponent being penalised for failing to keep her head up, Eccles was dealt a stunning blow when Poland’s Aneta Rygielska was named the winner.
The verdict sent shockwaves through the Paris arena, eliciting boos from the crowd and sparking a social media frenzy as fans vented their disbelief.
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In a baffling turn of events, both judges who scored the fight evenly at 28-28 sided with Rygielska, even after the point deduction. Two other judges favoured Eccles (30-26 and 29-27), while one had Rygielska ahead at 29-27.
BBC’s boxing pundit Steve Bunce didn’t mince his words, expressing his dismay: “I’m genuinely shocked, I’m stunned. I really did think she’d [Rosie Eccles] get it. That was a brutal outcome.”
He continued, criticising the judging: “We’ve got independent judges here. They went with the one who got deducted a point and she actually fouled. The two judges who had it even voted for the woman who had an infringement. I’m really annoyed. It’s a bad decision.”
An emotional Eccles even admitted that her opponent apologised for the controversial result. “A boxer knows when she’s won a fight and I knew I’d won the fight,” said Eccles.
“I’m really shocked, I don’t know what to say. That was a discipline fight for me, not a hard fight, and I thought I kept to my game. She’s the sort of fighter that just wants to steal a fight and I thought I did everything I could to stop her stealing it.
“I just did what I was told when she was holding me it was so obvious. I did everything I could to punch but I couldn’t when she was holding. I feel like I’m in a dream now – but not a great one.”
