AN emotional Muhammad Ali admitted the long wait to make his Olympic bow had affected him as his Rio hopes were ended after just one bout.

The Keighley boxer was targeting at least a podium spot but lost his last-16 clash with Venezuela’s Yoel Segundo Finol by a unanimous verdict.

In a scrappy fight, the South American southpaw proved an awkward opponent for the former Bradford College pupil, who showed plenty of intent but was unable to land any significant punches.

As a seed, Ali had received a first-round bye but the flyweight confessed that having to wait until Day 10 – making him the last of ten male GB boxers to enter the ring – had made him nervous.

He said: "“I think I’ve been here too long. I felt sluggish and too anxious and I was trying too hard.

“I’ve been waiting around waiting to box and watching everyone else and I let that get the better of me.

"I was in there and nothing was flowing and couldn’t get a rhythm going.

“I just wanted to get in there and steam-roll him but I couldn’t get close to him. He was clever.”

Finol, ranked 12th in the world and the reigning continental champion of the Americas, won each of the three rounds 10-9 according to all three judges.

His unorthodox style proved tricky for Ali, who was unable to channel his aggression into point-scoring punches.

The Venezuelan's one-two combinations paid off, though BBC commentator Richie Woodall felt the referee could have done more than warn him for his holding tactics.

Ali, who was left distraught by the defeat, still felt he had done enough to win and progress to the quarter-finals.

Instead, the 20-year-old was left to ponder whether to make another attempt at the Tokyo Olympics in four years time or turn professional.