As reported a few days ago, Belfast Olympic star Michael Conlan was fined almost £8,000 by the body which oversees amateur boxing after he branded them "cheats" in an emotional interview after his controversial Olympic defeat in Rio.
After losing his quarter final against Russian Vladimir Nikitin slammed the International Boxing Association (AIBA), accusing it of corruption.
“They’re known for being cheats and they’ll always be cheats," he said. "Amateur boxing stinks from the core to the top. . . today just showed how corrupt this organisation is.”
Now, he has been handed the maximum financial penalty the AIBA could impose. But, after turning professional and signing with Las Vegas based Top Rank, the 25-year-old is no longer subject to the organisation's rules.
Conlan won bronze in the flyweight division at London 2012 and was expected to challenge for top honours at Rio, especially after winning gold at the World Championships in 2015. However, the judges controversially awarded the win to the Russian fighter, leading Conlan to claim in a profanity-laced television that he had been "robbed" and "cheated".
Due to some very controversial decisions, several judges were sent home by the AIBA in the latter stages of the competition.
Conlan made it clear to Irish News that he doesn't have any intention of paying the fine.
"If the fine was £10, I still wouldn’t pay it and that’s the truth - I wouldn’t pay it if it was £1," Conlan said. "It’s the principle of the whole thing - I know I was right and what I said was right. Maybe the fact I said it so publicly has shamed them, but they shamed me in that ring.
"They provoked that reaction so I believe I was in the right and that everything I did was right."
