Tony Yoka of France won Olympic super heavyweight gold by a split decision here at Riocentro Pavilion 6 at the expense of Joe Joyce who was thwarted in his attempt to win Great Britain's last gold medal of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

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A brush of the hands after the winner was announced told those tuning in late that there was a story behind this fight. No congratulatory hugs or honest words in the ear. One fighter stayed to shoot off the bravado he now had the credentials to release, the other quickly fled the stage from which he was expected to play the leading role.

European champion last year in Baku, Joyce defeated Frenchman Yoka on his way to gold. He also gained endorsements from the likes of London 2012 super heavyweight gold medallist and IBF world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who sparred with Joyce in preparation for Rio.

Gold medallist in the -60kg, Estelle Mossely was in the stands to cheer on her fiance (Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)

The pair would meet again at the world championships later in the year. Yoka came out on top in a points decision but was nearly knocked out cold by a huge left hook. The Frenchman took the win as a changing of the guard. “I don’t feel anything when he hits me,” he said. “He’s just obsessed by hitting the other fighter, he’s like a robot.”

Beside calling Joyce a fighter without any brains, he went as far as saying the Briton was scared of him: “I had some sparring with him, and think Joe is more or less scared by me, psychologically, because of what happened in the world championship.”

Rio 2016 boxing results

Yoka seemed to be calling Joyce’s bluff early in the first round. Assuming a brace-like guard position, the Frenchman was beckoning Joyce to come have go. And Joyce did. Blow after blow landed on Yoka’s forearms and gloves, never quite finding a slit of light to exploit.

Had Yoka thrown more than an odd jab, it may have looked like his pre-match trash talk was actually prescient analysis. While not exactly the ‘robot’ Yoka called him, the Briton moved towards the Frenchman with the kind of predictability that was easy to stifle.

Joe Joyce went on all-out attack in the third and final round (Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)

The longer this went on, the more in became obvious that Joyce would have to change tactics or face punching himself into exhaustion. Impenetrable though Yoka’s guard was, Joyce did catch him with some quick jabs and a few big right hands. However, problematically for Joyce, these hits usually came at the cost of Yoka connecting with hits of his own.

Narrow victories for the Frenchman in the first two rounds meant Joyce needed a knockout in the third – not an impossible feat. He came out swinging, and edged the round by a couple of points, but so long as Yoka kept his hands up and sensibly backed away when things got too heated, he knew victory would be his.

After the fight, Yoka told Rio 2016.com: “He's not intelligent. Look at my face - it's barely touched. He punched a lot into my arms and my gloves and every time I struck back I tried to hit his head. If you look at all the other guys on the podium they are all black and blue and in comparison look at my face. I'm looking good."

Tony Yuka reacts to hearing his name called as the victor (Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)

The 22-year old Yoka also stated his immediate plans of turning professional and following in Anthony Joshua’s footsteps.

Joyce, meanwhile, thought his work rate had warranted him more points and said he would have to ‘watch the fight back’ to get a clearer idea of whether or not he was wronged.

"I'm going to have a holiday, have some time off boxing. It doesn't stop when you're a GB boxer," he added. "The training's gruelling and I've been to all the tournaments. It would be good to have a rest and then I'll start to think about what I'm going to do next."

The British camp are known to have been infuriated by the decision while Anthony Joshua, super-heavyweight champion at London 2012, said there was no doubt that Joyce deserved to win.  

After the fight, Joshua was indignant: "I have never seen a lightweight, let alone a heavyweight, throw so many punches in a fight before,” Joshua said. “Joe was aggressive, making the fight. The power that he possesses, there is no way that you can block those shots. He is penetrating gloves, penetrating the body. For me, he's Olympic champion.”

While the 30-year-old's career surely won't end here, losing to this showboating French opponent will leave a bruise. Joyce was attempting to gain Britain's second medal of the Games, a flyweight gold medal won by Nicola Adams, her second Olympic title in a row.