Lewis Richardson loses Olympic semi-final to Marco Verde

LEWIS RICHARDSONโ€™S dreams of Olympic gold melted away as he conceded a split decision loss to Mexicoโ€™s Marco Verde Alvarez in their Paris Olympics semi-final. In only his 16th bout at 71kgs, Richardson, the 27-year-old southpaw from Colchester, was boxing for a place in the Olympic final.

There was raucous support for the Mexican who came out to meet Richardson in centre ring. Occasionally dropping his hands to have a look, Richardsonโ€™s right jab was a key weapon, followed by a left hand to the body. Verdeโ€™s right hook came into play as the opening round drew to a close, with Verde 3-2 up.

The two lean southpaws continued that energy into the second round. After an untidy spell, Richardson withdrew, sporting a cut under the left eye. Verde pushed the pace as Richardson looked for a left uppercut. The Englishman was 4-1 up after a strong second round.

Verde Alvarez needed a strong third in return and he delivered, firing in shots from both hands to head and body. That effort and endeavour earned him a 5-0 sweep and an overall split decision victory.

The final scores read: Bachir Abbar 29-28, Holger Kussmaul 29-28, Chia Chan Lin 28-29, Wade Peterson 30-27,ย Muhammad Pohan 28-29 in favour of Verde.

Sri Lankan referee Nelka Thampu kept on top of the action throughout. Despite today’s disappointment, Richardson exits the tournament with a bronze medal and can hold his head high after three quality displays.

Opening the eveningโ€™s action, Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev of Uzbekistan found the range, rhythm and tempo to snake charm American Omari Jones over three rounds, winning a 3-2 decision win.

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