EXCLUSIVE: REVEALED: Team GB boxer Joe Joyce’s controversial defeat against France’s Tony Yoka in gold medal fight at Rio 2016 Olympics set to be OVERTURNED after criminal investigator’s fix probe
- Joe Joyce was denied the gold medal after losing to Tony Yoka at Rio Olympics
- The boxing world was left stunned when Frenchman Toka was awarded the win
- The result is now likely to be overturned after a probe into whether it was rigged
- The investigation centres on whether boxers of certain nationalities were favoured by referees and judges in Rio, including France and Uzbekistan
One of the most scandalous results in Olympic boxing history, which saw British fighter Joe Joyce denied gold at Rio 2016, is likely to be overturned after sport’s top criminal investigator delivers a report into whether the competition was rigged on Thursday.
Joyce seemed to have outboxed Frenchman Tony Yoka in the super-heavyweight final and be heading for the same professional career that Anthony Joshua started four years earlier.
Yoka’s arm was raised instead, to widespread astonishment in the world of boxing. But Sportsmail understands that the Joyce result will feature in Thursday’s report published by Richard McLaren — whose revelations about Russia’s state-sponsored doping programme saw that country barred from competition.
Joe Joyce won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics after suffering a controversial loss in the final
The investigation by McLaren and his team centres on whether boxers of certain nationalities were favoured by referees and judges in Rio.
Among those investigated are France and Uzbekistan, which won more bouts than the best boxing nations.
McLaren’s team were called in when an internal probe by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) found ‘strong suspicion’ surrounding AIBA’s French former executive director Karim Bouzidi and a number of referees and judges.
McLaren’s report is also expected to question the decision which saw Russian fighter Vladimir Nikitin handed a farcical victory over Ireland’s Michael Conlan to win bronze in Rio.
Tony Yoka was awarded the surprise win, but the result is set to be overturned after a fix probe
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