All that glisters is not gold
And when he strolled through the mixed zone seeking out familiar faces who would latch on to his every word and on to the huge conference room and the mandatory press conference where the medallists are expected to bare their very souls, he left a trail of mystery and suspicion behind him, as those who had witnessed the fight for the gold medal were left wondering how the computer compiles the scores of the five judges who decide the outcome of such confrontations.
This was a classic contest and nobody would dare to suggest that the Irishman, boxing out of the red corner, turned in anything less than a gold medal winning performance.
The only problem was that Egan was not being rewarded for his efforts. He started slowly as he is prone to do and got caught with two left jabs that gave Zhang a two point lead at the end of the first round.
Zhang went three points up from a right cross early in the second round but now the judges seemed to ignore Egan who landed two scoring left hands to the body, but neither registered.
He pulled back two points, again finishing a combination with the productive left hook, but Zhang flicked out the left jab for another point to tie the round.
The third round was tied 2-2, but it was a round that Egan should have won handsomely as he pushed forward. When he got a point from a solid right, but Zhang registered one that came from thin air. Egan landed another big left that went unrecorded and, although he was first to the punch next time, it was Zhang’s counter-punch that came up on the screen.
“That’s what happened on a couple of occasions,” Billy Walsh said. “Both of them landed, but Kenny landed just before him and boom! Zhang goes further ahead.
“He got points for a few little flicks when you have to work hard for scores here. I think everyone saw it.”
Going out for the fourth round Walsh told him to go out and throw as many punches as he could, to be as opportunistic as he could, to hunt him down and try to score.
“He had to chase him and try to pick up every score with three and four punch combinations, because he was hitting him with good right hooks and good left hands, and he wasn’t getting scores, so he needed to put a flurry of punches together to get them.”
Egan certainly should not have lost the round 4-2. He fell on his knees in frustration at the end, while Zhang fell on his knees in an expression of relief and thanksgiving to whoever was responsible.
“I’m gutted,” was Billy Walsh’s immediate reaction. “We really felt we had the winning of this today. His performance was definitely good enough to win it. There were definitely five or six clear shots that a blind man could see were scoring punches.”
Bronze medallist, Tony Jeffries (Great Britain), who lost to Egan in the semi-finals, joined in underlining the consensus that Egan was hard done by, to say the least.
“I feel for Kenny now,” said Jeffries. “I think he should be walking away with a gold medal. The scoring’s not been very good all the way through, but there it was terrible.”
“There’s nothing I can do, is there?” a surprisingly deflated Kenny Egan said afterwards. “A score’s a score and I just have to settle for silver. I’m disgusted, but that’s how things go, that’s sport. There has to be a loser.
“He threw a few shots there and he hit my elbow, right hand to body and I could hear the Chinese going bananas. I obviously knew he was getting a score. I knew myself it was going to be a hard fight after that.
“It’s ridiculous. Over the last two weeks we’ve known the body shots haven’t been scoring, you had to really drive in with a back hand. He was throwing shots and getting scores. Fair play to him.
“I was not just hitting him, I was creasing him with body shots as well, but he was getting scores and I wasn’t. All I could do was get in there, box and give a performance. There are five judges there and that’s something I can’t control.”
“I knew it was going to be hard if he got a lead or if it was any way close,” he said. “Even the count back he won in the previous fight, which was close.
“But he’s Olympic champion, I’m not. It’s an Olympic final. He wanted to go out there and give 100% himself. He was game. He boxed well himself, I thought I boxed alright, but I wasn’t scoring.”
He had done everything possible inside the ring, but outside the other forces were at work and he made no secret of his disappointment.
“The whole arse has fallen out on me now,” he said. “I know an Olympic silver medal is brilliant, but I really thought I had the beating of that guy. An Olympic medal is rare, so I’ll have to go home happy.
“I know that, without a doubt, I’m the best light heavyweight on the planet. I’d just say the scoring was unfair. That’s all.”
“I’m just gutted for him and for all of us really,” Billy Walsh said. “Second best isn’t good enough, you want to be victorious, you want to win everything, you want to be a gold medallist here. For someone to try and please the Chinese crowd and take that away from him is disgraceful.
“I know he’s had a great Games, we’ve had a great Games, two bronze medals and a silver, but we’re ultimately winners, we want to be the best. Kenny Egan is the best man at these Games, but he doesn’t have the medal to prove it. ”
He agreed that AIBA officials said on Friday that they get the right result over 95% of the time, but he insisted they got it wrong this time.
“The 5% was on show today,” he said. “A computer is only as good as the people who are pressing the buttons and we don’t have the best referees and judges here.
“In fairness to him (Zhang), he’s had a great Games. He’s beaten some very good quality opponents, he beat the European champion and the world champion.
“We’ve had a great Games. Little John Joe Joyce’s guy went on Saturday night and won a gold medal. From the team, it’s been a fantastic performance throughout. Everyone’s gave their all for their country, and I think the whole nation should be proud of them. Hopefully we lifted a bit of doom and gloom on the weather and the recession and put a smile into somebody’s heart.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
