Lowestoft boxer Anthony Ogogo's Olympic dream remains in the balance after his conqueror at the World Boxing Championships failed to reach the final in Azerbaijan.
The 22-year-old was relying on Esquiva Falcao Florentino, who beat Ogogo in the third round, seeing off Japanese favourite Ryota Murata to ensure qualification for the London 2012 Olympics as the result would have triggered the automatic qualification standard for the Games, which have been set under AIBA's rules.
However, Florentino was throughly outclassed 24-11 and Ogogo will now have to compete at next April's European Championships in Turkey to qualify for next year's Olympics.
Hopes remained high after the first round of today's bout with Florentino level at 4-4 but Murata's ability slowly shone through, taking the second round 8-4 before his superior fitness told in the third, winning the round 12-3.
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