Aidan Walsh beaten by Frenchman Makam Traore in Paris – The Irish Times

Tokyo bronze medallist Aidan Walsh became the second Irish boxer after Dean Clancy to fall out of the Olympic draw after his first fight. The Belfast southpaw lost 4-0 on points to Frenchman Makam Traore in front of a partisan crowd at the 5,000-capacity North Paris Arena after being cautioned and deducted a point by Korean referee Jongin Kim for holding.

Walsh easily won the first round on all the judges’ cards and was later left perplexed as to why the second round was 4-1 against him. The point deduction happened in the third round with Traore winning the fight 29-27, 29-27, 28-28, 29-27, 29-27.

In a cagey fight, the referee also told the boxers to get more involved, and although the crowd remained relatively quiet during the first round, Traoré’s every punch was applauded from the second round onwards, building to a climax in the third round.

“I was shocked when I heard (the score). I was happy with the performance. I know I got a warning for holding,” Walsh said. “I know it’s been a thing the last few months, but I’ve been doing it my whole career, hitting and holding. It seems like the last few months are where they seem to be slowing down a little bit. You usually get away with three or four warnings before you get a proper warning. I don’t know.”

The Irish light heavyweight relied on single point strikes and rarely got involved in fights, keeping his distance at all times and patiently picking up points and moving away. It worked well for the first three minutes, although the referee told them to get more involved. The second round turned the fight completely with the judges going 4-1 in favor of the French boxer.

“I didn’t really know,” the 27-year-old said. “I felt like when you usually win the first round handily, you win the second round if you keep doing what you’re doing.”

When he was warned in the third round and deducted a point, the contest went away. Walsh continued to struggle against his southpaw style of scoring and movement with the German judge scoring the fight a draw at 28-28 and the other four siding with Traore.

“No condolences, to be honest. I’m incredibly grateful to be here and I mean it. I’ve said the whole time I’ve been here my goal isn’t a medal, my goal is to enjoy the process and I’ve enjoyed the first week in the Olympic Village much more than the last journey at the last Olympics in Tokyo.

“It’s an absolute privilege to be here. I did my best and my best wasn’t good enough today.”