Monday 15 August 2016 17:29, UK
Team GB flyweight Muhammad Ali has been eliminated from the Rio Olympics after a points defeat to Venezuela's Yoel Segundo Finol.
Bury boxer Ali, 20, was unable to match his 19-year-old opponent for shot selection and slumped out of the Games with a clean sweep of unanimous scores, 30-27.
The first round was a scrappy affair, with Ali neglecting to measure his southpaw opponent in favour of trying to drag his man into a physical contest. A right counter was successful initially, but Finol was quick to reply with a combination.
Ali was determined to surge forward and force the action with single shots off his right hand looking dangerous, but Finol was not warned for persistent holding and eventually was awarded the session by all three judges for his more economical work.
The second was more of the same, although Ali's work seemed all the more over-eager as Finol began to pick his punches with more confidence before either scampering out of range and stepping in to hold. A referee with a lenient view on holding certainly helped, but it was no surprise when Finol moved two rounds up.
Finol was issued with his umpteenth warning from the referee in the third - this time for lowering his head dangerously, and there were slightly farcical scenes when the winner was allowed to grip Ali's arms by his side quite clearly and walk him around the ring for nearly 10 seconds.
Although Ali was clearly the aggressor, Finol's superior ringcraft was more than enough to see him into the quarter-finals.
