Paris Olympics: Split decision or not, Nishant Dev’s inexperience showed in loss to Marco Verde

Nishant Dev endured a tough 1-4 loss against Marco Verde in the men's 71kg quarterfinal at Paris Olympics

Long before Nishant Dev entered the ring for the men’s 71kg quarterfinal against Marco Alvarez Verde, he and his corner would have known they would be in for a real test. Verde didn’t just come from boxing stock – his father, Manuel, had lost in the first round as a light-heavyweight at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 – but he had already made a splash in the professional ranks. In April, he stopped Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias after five rounds of an eight-round contest. Iglesias may be nearly 36 now, but he was Olympic champion in both London (light welterweight – 64kg) and Tokyo (welterweight – 69 kg).

In the first round though, it was Nishant who looked more like the giant-killer. He came out with intent, landing jabs and combinations and generally reducing Verde to frustrated clinches that the referee from Azerbaijan did little to stop. Towards the end of the round though, there was a warning shot for Nishant as a couple of powerful shots from Verde forced the referee to give him a standing-eight count.

Also Read | Leon Marchand – Swimming sensation who had French President fist pumping, and Michael Phelps doing a jig of delight

The second round was more even, with Verde closing the gap between the two fighters to prevent Nishant landing the snaking jabs that had done damage in the first round. Nishant also made the mistake of backing into the ropes once too often, allowing Verde to unleash one or two decent combinations. Though Nishant raised his glove at the end of the round, it was apparent that the Mexican was working his way into the fight.

The final round was where it all changed. Nishant showed little of the intent he had in the opening minutes, and was frequently in a tangle on the ropes. Verde, with his instincts honed in the pro ranks, didn’t miss the opportunity, landing some devastating upper-cuts. Nishant redicovered some urgency in the final minute, but by then, it was apparent which way the judges would mark the final round.

It ended up being the only round where the five judges – from Hungary, Argentina, Germany, Kazakhstan and Morocco – were in total agreement. Each marked it 10-9 to Verde. At the end of two rounds, the Hungarian judge had Nishant 20-18 up, while the other four had given the two boxers a round and 19 points each. The marks for the final three minutes meant a split decision in Verde’s favour.

Vijender Singh, who won his bronze medal in Beijing as a middleweight (69-75kg), took a diplomatic view of what had happened. “I don’t know what’s the scoring system but I think very close fight..he play so well..koi na bhai #NishantDev,” he tweeted after the bout. Social media, predictably, went into Nishant-was-robbed mode, despite the boxing illiteracy of most of those commenting.

I don’t know what’s the scoring system but I think very close fight..he play so well..koi na bhai #NishantDev

— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) August 3, 2024

The reality was that it was a close bout, and the scoring bore that out. Not a single judge gave either boxer all three rounds, so suggestions of bias are way off the mark. The German judge, who gave Verde the opening round – perhaps on account of the standing count Nishant got – then marked the second in India’s favour, when he had boxed nowhere near as well as in the first three minutes.

In amateur boxing, most scoring punches are from close in and directed at the body. Few of the rangy hooks or crosses that Nishant threw hit Verde in the face. Many deflected off the gloves. Those aren’t scoring punches. If anything, this defeat, to a boxer a few steps ahead in his development, was a good lesson for Nishant in ring craft. He had Verde where he wanted him in the first round, but couldn’t sustain that pressure in the next two. And professional or amateur, getting caught on the ropes usually never ends well.

In an exclusive arrangement with RevSportz