DeSoto boxer Errol Spence Jr. thought his Olympic dream was over on Friday, but after a protest and a five-hour wait, EJ found out he would live to box another day at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Unfortunately, the match didn't go his way.
The southpaw went toe-to-toe with Russia's Andrey Zamkovoy in the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon. He lost the first round 3-4, the second round was scored 4-5 in favor of the Russian, and the final round also went in Zamkovoy's favor 4-7. The final score was 11-16.
@ErrolSpenceJr tweeted: Came up short tonight good fight! thanks everybody for the love n support #GODIsGreat #TeamUSA time too start my pro career
Friends and fellow boxers gathered to watch the match live online at Maple Avenue Boxing Gym in Dallas where Spence trains.
"I think it was scored fair, but EJ just wasn't in there," said Arnie Verbeek, owner of Maple Avenue Boxing Gym. "Some of these international fighters are very good at using the Olympic rules and our fighters are more like boxers and that may have been in the difference in this particular match."
Prior to Tuesday's match Spence was the latest boxer involved in an Olympic boxing controversy after judges awarded the win in the round of 16 to India's Krishan Vikas, with a score of 13-11.
The International Amateur Boxing Association overturned the loss, saying its competition jury reviewed video of the fight and found that Spence should have been awarded more points because the referee only gave one caution despite a total of nine holding fouls in the third round alone. The final score was changed to 13-15 in favor of Spence.
Spence had been the last hope for a medal for Team USA boxing, all other Team USA boxers had been eliminated in previous bouts.
