Barnes’ swipe at head gear rule change

Paddy Barnes vented his frustration about the changes to the head gear rule after yesterday’s quarter-final defeat at the World Elite Championships in Kazakhstan.

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) abolished the head guard rule for elite male boxers earlier this year, which had been in operation since the early 1980s.

Both Barnes and Jasurbek Latipov of Uzbekistan received public warnings for dropping their heads in the second round of a contest marked by spoiling tactics.

Barnes sustained a cut over his right eye in the first round afteraccidently colliding with hisopponent’s knee.

The two-time Olympic bronze medallist indicated to the ref twice during yesterday’s three-rounder that Lapitov was punching him in the back of the head.

“That’s it all over! Was out on my feet in the first round and didn’t recover, blurred vision for third round with head clashes!F**k your no headgear!,” he tweeted.

“Fighting with no headgear is good, but to fight six times in 10 days without it is impossible, Dr Wu [AIBA President] doesn’t care he isn’t the one fighting.”

London 2012 bronze medallist Michael Conlan also exited at the quarter-final stage yesterday after losing all three rounds to Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin in the bantamweight class.

He tweeted: “Signmeup” which seems to be a clear indication he wants to move into the professional game following his long-term colleague John Joe Nevin.

Meanwhile Tommy McCarthy also lost out in the quarter-final stage on a split decision to Argentina’s Yamil Peralta.