Paddy Power pays out following Rio boxing controversy

Paddy Power has paid out on all bets which picked Ireland’s Michael Conlan as the winner in the boxing quarter-final clash he controversially lost last week at the Olympic Games.

The Irish firm also paid out all bets on bantamweight Conlan winning a medal in Rio de Janeiro, despite his exit in the last eight.

Boxing experts were left bemused by the judges’ decision to award the quarter-final victory to Conlan’s opponent, Vladimir Nikitin of Russia. The fighter himself called the verdict a “shambles” and referred to the Aiba boxing federation as “cheats”.

A number of officials were subsequently stood down by Aiba, although it is not known if any had been involved in the Conlan bout.

“The whole thing stinks, absolutely stinks, and our heart goes out to Michael Conlan after he was robbed of victory,” said a Paddy Power spokesperson, according to the Irish Times.

“The entire country was behind Michael and as you might imagine we took plenty of bets from patriotic punters who were backing him to do the business, and it’s only fair that we pay out on him as the winner.”

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