Australia's golden boxing dream at the Commonwealth Games lies in tatters but only after courageous efforts from silver medallists Kaye Scott and Callum Peters.
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Scott's hopes of winning the Games gold to cap her distinguished pioneering boxing career ended painfully.
Australia's 38-year-old first lady of boxing once again had her ambitions ruined by Rosie Eccles, the Welshwoman who beat her in the welterweight semi-final on the Gold Coast four years ago.
Once again, but this time more decisively in the 70kg light-middlewight division, Eccles forced a second round stoppage on Sunday, leaving Scott to this time at least grab silver.
Then Peters, the 19-year-old from Adelaide put up a stunning performance in the middleweight final, which may well have been the fight of the tournament as he was edged out on a 3-2 point decision against Scotland's Sam Hickey.
In a rare old slugfest, with the pair standing toe-to-toe and landing crushing blows for much of the fight, Peters actually looked the stronger of the pair at the end and may have landed the best shots.
Yet Hickey's more accurate work may have earned him the verdict.
Earlier, it had been a brutal performance from Eccles whose flurries of punches earned Scott a standing count in both the first and second rounds.
Hungarian referee Piroska Beki had finally seen enough midway through the second round after Eccles again piled in with a series of unanswered shots and she gave the Australian a third standing count.
Though Scott held up her hands to show she was fit to continue the referee - rightly - waved off the contest to save the veteran from further punishment.
"It didn't eventuate the way I'd planned in my head. It was kind of like an outer body experience, I just don't think I was there in the moment," said Scott.
"That's competitive sport - tonight wasn't quite my night and Rosie was bang on."
It was a grievous disappointment for the Sydneysider who's only the second Australian boxer after Tony Madigan to go to three Commonwealth Games and who's attended every tournament since women made their debut at Glasgow 2014.
Scott, whose 75kg silver in 2016 remains the best result ever by an Australian boxer, male or female, at a world championships, had hoped to finally clamber on to the top podium at an international event.
Now, though, she'll have to wait until the Olympics when she'll be 40.
Australian Associated Press
