MUHAMMAD Ali was left heartbroken after losing his opening fight at the Rio Olympics by a unanimous decision.

The 20-year-old Keighley-born boxer, who trains at Bury Amateur Boxing Club with Amir Khan’s former coach Mick Jelley, lost every round of his flyweight contest against Venezuela’s Yoel Finol.

All three judges awarded victory to 19-year-old Finol by 30 points to 27.

But there was very little to choose between the two fighters in what was an untidy contrast of styles.

And a clearly devastated Ali struggled to come to terms with the result.

“I thought I was up after the first round but then I heard I was down,” he told BBC Sport.

“After the second I was thinking ‘what, no way’.

“I’ve just lost now and, ahh, I’m gutted.

“All of the hard work I have put in has gone to waste.

“It’s heartbreaking.”

Ali was the main aggressor throughout the round of 16 bout, continually moving forward.

But the Venezuelan, who is Central American continental champion and ranked 12th best in the world, nullified the threat posed by the British boxer, continually holding him as he tried to get inside - a spoiling tactic the Kazakhstan referee failed to clamp down on.

Ali was left frustrated and failed to land any quality punches on his southpaw opponent, while Finol found his way through the Ali guard with a handful of punches on the counter, which proved enough to sway the judges.

The defeat ends Ali's Olympic dream, while Finol goes into Wednesday's quarter-finals just one victory away from a medal match.