Lewis Richardson, Great Britain's last boxer at the 2024 Olympics, had to settle for a bronze medal after losing 3-2 on a split points decision to Mexico's Marco Verde in his junior middleweight (71kg) division semifinal on Tuesday.
Verde will face Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev, 23, of Uzbekistan, on Friday night local time (Aug. 9) in Paris, after producing a strong last round to overturn Richardson's slim points lead at Roland-Garros.
Muydinkhujaev, a gold medallist at last year's World Championships and now favourite for gold in Paris on Friday, beat Omari Jones, of the United States, 3-2 on a split points decision in the other semifinal.
Richardson, 27, from Colchester, Essex, was Team GB's only boxer out of six (three men, three women) to progress past their first bout in Paris, and his defeat means Great Britain will not have a boxing gold medallist for the first time in the last five Olympics.
Both made a fast start in an entertaining first round, with Verde landing a good right hook in the last minute. Richardson looked best when he made the most of his reach and fired out jabs, and he landed a good left uppercut during a clinch in the second round.
Verde, 22, who won the gold medal in the 2023 Pan American Games, went into the final round behind on points and he immediately set a high tempo. The Mexican's speed of punches and high work rate unanimously caught the judges' eyes in the third round, which proved decisive.
It was agonising for Richardson, who perhaps produced his best boxing of his three bouts in Paris versus Verde. Richardson, who missed out on qualifying for the last Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, can be proud of his performance in earning bronze and he will now be a target for UK-based promoters with offers to turn professional.
"It was a close bout. It's hard to say if I'm happy or disappointed with my performance but what I can say is that I'm proud of how I've conducted myself throughout this tournament," Richardson said.
"I've been ultra professional and I've represented my country with pride and honour. I'm proud of what I've achieved because I've brought a bronze medal home for Team GB.
"It was a close bout, but it wasn't meant to be. Things happen for a reason. I'll come back stronger from this. It's the losses that make you as a person and the setbacks and how you come back from them. I'm resilient, I'll come back stronger and my future is exciting."
Richardson's bronze medal is especially impressive considering he had to boil himself down to make the 71 kg weight limit as his natural weight division -- middleweight (75 kg) -- was dropped from the Paris schedule. He only qualified for Paris in June.
"It's very raw. It's hard to process right now. I've won that bronze medal but it's hard to celebrate because you're looking to move on and change the colour of that medal," he said.
"But I'm sure I'm going to make a conscious effort sooner rather than later to flip that switch and be proud of what I achieved because I'm the only British boxer to medal at these Games. I hope I've made the country proud."
Richardson's quarterfinal win over Jordan's Zeyad Eashash on Saturday meant Team GB avoided missing out on a boxing medal at a Games for the first time since 1996. After Richardson's exit, Paris will be the first Olympics since 2004 when Great Britain has not had a gold medallist in boxing.