Ireland's Brendan Irvine admitted "the better man won" after exiting the flyweight division competition to Filipino opponent Carlo Paalam in the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo early on Monday morning.
Irvine, competing in his second Olympics after his debut in Rio, was unable to overcome a sluggish first round, when he was rocked by his hyper-aggressive opponent and found himself behind on all five judges' scorecards.
He gradually improved, rousing himself in a more even second round and drawing level on two of the judges' cards.
The Belfast fighter had marginally the better of the third and final round but it wasn't enough to make up the ground lost in the opening round.
Paalam was adjudged the winner on a 4-1 split decision, the cards reading 30-27, 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 in favour of the victor.
"What can I do, it's boxing," he told RTÉ Sport.
"This stuff happens every day. The better man won on the day. I did think it was a close fight and I probably could have got it myself but that's just the way it goes.
"It’s been a roller-coaster getting here but I’m proud to have left everything in the ring and give it my all.
"There’s physically nothing I could have done more, so I’ll try and pick myself up and support the rest of the team now.
"I did study him coming into it. I knew he was going to be very explosive and jumping off from the start but I am a slow starter. I did think I won the last two rounds. That’s boxing."
A disappointed Brendan Irvine reflects on his loss to Carlo Paalam in his flyweight bout #RTESport #Olympics @weerooster @LoveIrishBoxing pic.twitter.com/JyTWvonz4k
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 26, 2021
Irvine had to battle hard to reach the Tokyo Games and revealed that such were the extent of his injury problems, people believed that had hung up his gloves.
"Two or three years ago I didn't think I'd be standing here, to be honest with you," the Ireland flag-bearer said.
"I had a nightmare two years with injuries, trying to get back to fitness and full health and to qualify. Nobody expected ne to qualify.
"I was bumping into people in the street and they were saying to me, 'I thought you gave up boxing’. They just didn’t know the nightmare I had faced.
"I’m proud to be representing my country but I am obviously devastated.
"My family are very very proud of me, well I hope so anyway but yeah, I’m just devastated."
