We hope AIBA aren’t waiting on that €9,300 from Michael Conlan, because the Belfast boxer says he will never pay it.
On Monday, amateur boxing’s international governing body fined Conlan the maximum amount allowed under their rules, after his outburst on RTE following his controversial defeat at the Rio Olympics.
Well he won't be paying this any time soon https://t.co/9ByaYtN53Z
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 19, 2016
“They’re cheating bastards, they’re paying everybody,” Conlan said back in August, after judges awarded his bantamweight quarter-final bout to Russian fighter Vladimir Nikitin.
“Fucking cheats” – Michael Conlan was understandably furious after being denied a second Olympic medal…https://t.co/mmgEZwq7D3
— SportsJOE.ie (@SportsJOEdotie) August 16, 2016
“AIBA are cheats. They’re fucking cheats,” Conlan continued.
“That’s me. I’ll never box for AIBA again. They’re cheating bastards who are paying everybody. I don’t give a fuck if I’m cursing on TV. That here is the Olympic gold. My dreams have been shattered now. Do you know what? I’ve a big career ahead of me. And these ones? They’re known for being cheats and they’ll always be cheats. Amateur boxing stinks from the core right to the top.”
Michael Conlan spoke to @dionfanning five hours after his defeat but the pain was still palpable https://t.co/EY8Ne6fTN4
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 16, 2016
Unless Conlan fights again at the Olympics, or if he wishes to register again with AIBA or become a coach, he won’t have to pay the fine.
The 25-year-old has since turned professional, and although he could compete at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, as professional are now allowed to box at the Olympics, he has no intention of returning to fight in amateur boxing.
Conlan also said he won’t pay the fine under any circumstances.
“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,” he told The Irish News.
“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.
“When it comes to that stage, we’ll come to that stage, but it’s not going to happen. By the time I want to be a coach or whatever, those people won’t be in charge. I don’t know why they want to continue this. The fact they’ve fined me, it doesn’t bother me at all because until the day I die, I’ll never pay that fine.”
