Joe Ward latest boxer out of Rio 2016 after two public warnings cost him Olympics debut

What a miserable week for Irish boxing.

Away from the Michael O'Reilly fiasco, we've seen Paddy Barnes, David Oliver Joyce and now Joe Ward face defeat in the ring. Ward, a heavy favourite over Ecuador's Carlos Andres Mina, found himself against an aggressive, scrappy opponent for his Olympics debut that didn't go anywhere near according to plan. The 22-year-old got off to a solid start, claiming the first round on two judges' scorecards but received a public warning in the second round and went into the third needing a big three minutes. Despite Mina appearing to be just as guilty of holding, Ward received another deduction in the third and allowed himself to be drawn into the Ecuadorian's wheelhouse. A split decision was awarded to Mina and Ward was heartbroken after becoming the latest boxer to be eliminated from Rio 2016. "I am very disappointed," Ward told RTÉ after the bout.

A disappointed Joe Ward says his opponent made it hard to implement his game plan #RTErio2016 https://t.co/AorI4XbLVz

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 10, 2016

"I thought I boxed reasonably well. I thought I did enough to win the fight. The referee gave me two public warnings for no real reason. "He (Mina) was doing a lot more holding and heading my head and elbowing but that's the referee." And many, who had stayed up until midnight Irish time to watch the fight, were of the opinion that Ward had been hard done by by the referee. https://twitter.com/dwyer_campbell/status/763508630058573824 https://twitter.com/staffyshane/status/763508410184830976 https://twitter.com/CiaranHeneghan/status/763507957325762560 https://twitter.com/KearnsRk/status/763507709056540672 https://twitter.com/SeamusMcDonagh1/status/763507675892215808 https://twitter.com/Green_Scouser/status/763507452784566272 https://twitter.com/mcleanbrian1/status/763507409864232961 https://twitter.com/Toby__Don/status/763507398082437120 https://twitter.com/auric_k/status/763507318109724672 https://twitter.com/PaMulSport/status/763511113141129220