The day after the publication of Richard McLaren report on suspicion of manipulation of certain fights at the Rio Olympics, in 2016, the Briton Joe Joyce, beaten by Tony Yoka in the final of + 91 kg, let it be known that he intended to claim the gold medal. “I really believe that I was the winner of the fight against Tony Yoka and that I deserved the gold medal (…), but I had accepted this decision”, he begins by writing in a message published on Twitter. Before calling on the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) to repair the damage.
“I went through the report and read that corruption had affected the outcome of my gold medal match against Tony Yoka,” Joyce continues. If there has been corruption, and it seems that this is the case, I trust the AIBA and the IOC to ensure that sports fairness is respected and that I receive the gold medal. “
#THEJUGGERNAUT 👊🏾 pic.twitter.com/8iH8HsW6sL
– Joe Joyce (@JoeJoyceBoxing) October 1, 2021
In this report, which we have scrutinized, there is no mention of a sure and certain corruption concerning this fight. It is noted that the French boxer could have benefited from an “easier path to a medal” via the manipulation of another fight, the one between the Jordanian Iashaish and the Romanian Nistor. “The victory should have gone to Nistor”, note the investigators, but it is indeed the Jordanian that Yoka had met in the quarterfinals, and easily beaten.
“The English should just wonder about their tactical choices”
As for the final, the report simply specifies that it is one of 65 out of the 273 fights in the competition which gave rise to a shared decision by the judges. “I invite you to watch the fight. The English should just wonder about their tactical choices. It was a very close fight, and Tony’s strategy was best suited to win, Kevinn Rabaud, DTN at the time, told us. It was not his finest boxing, but it was the one he had to face this opponent to make him thwart. “
Joe Joyce concluded his post by indicating that he would study the report in detail with his legal team “and await the decision of the AIBA and the IOC”.