Irish boxer Darren O’Neill's Olympic dream was shattered when he lost in the last 16 of the penultimate qualifier in Baku.
The Kilkenny heavyweight was hoping to reach a second Games but suffered defeat by unanimous decision at the hands of Nigeria's Wesley Apochi.
O’Neill, who won his opening bout in Azerbaijan, was up against it as he had to win the competition to claim the sole Olympic place on offer in the 91kg class, but was on the wrong end of the judges' verdict after three close rounds.
Elsewhere, Michael O’Reilly advanced to the last 16 at middleweight, outclassing Vitalia Bandarenka of Belarus for an a unanimous decision.
The top seed in the 75kg division is now just two victories away from claiming one of five Olympic places spots on offer in Baku.
The Portlaoise man is back in the ring on Tuesday against Shinebayor Narmandakh of Mongolia.
Super-heavyweight Dean Gardiner joins O'Reilly in action tomorrow in Baku with a quarter-final bout against Viktor Vychryst of Ukraine.
Gardiner must win gold as there is super-heavy is another division with only one Olympic berth available..
The final Olympic qualifier will be held in Vargas, Venezuela next month. Ostensibly a World Series of Boxing (WSB) versus AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) clash, the Latin American qualifiers are also open to professional boxers.
Mayo light-welter Ray Moylette, who qualified for Venezuela through APB, is the only Irish boxer eligible for Vargas.
