Dallas-born Errol Spence was defeated 16-11 by Russian Andrey Zamkovoy on Wednesday, and just like that, the United States was guaranteed to go without a single medal in Olympic boxing, a huge disappointment for a once-dominant sport for Team USA (quote courtesy of the AP):
“It’s very disappointing for all of us, but we all fought hard and tried,” said Spence, who couldn’t capitalize after his apparent last-gasp loss to India’s Krishan Vikas last week was overturned on appeal.
So what's happened to American boxing in international competition? There's a ton of theories SB Nation blog Bad Left Hook breaks down the painful situation for America's boxing hopes in 2012:
Team USA are done. You'll probably hear a lot of people say it was a robbery or the like. It wasn't. We tend to have trouble admitting losses. I've even heard that Jamel Herring was robbed. Oh well. Spence gave an effort but never looked totally comfortable in there. Zamkovoy was more polished, which has been a problem in Beijing and London for the American team, and that comes down to coaching and the system itself more than our athletes, but then I already said this stuff.
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