Heartache as Forth boxer Scott Forrest is knocked out of Commonwealth Games

Forrest (23) had been confident of going all the way in the Gold Coast and winning a gold medal, but he was defeated on points after a tough encounter against England’s Cheavon Clarke, his regular training partner.

Four of the five judges gave Clarke the verdict, with the other marking the contest as a draw.

Scott said: “In the first two rounds I felt like I was catching the cleaner shots. He won the last round, but I’m not sure.

“My mind was clear and I wanted to keep going in the third. It was a tough fight.

“I thought I had him in the first two, but he had a good last round.”

The result is a major disappointment for Forrest, who had been keen to land heavyweight gold after the heartache he suffered in being knocked out in the first round of the 81kg light heavyweight class in Glasgow four years ago.

But losing to his training mate means that the Forth ace crashes out of the 2018 Games just one round short of being guaranteed at least a bronze medal.

Tuesday’s defeat was in sharp contrast to Scott’s Gold Coast opener against Elly Ocholla of Kenya on Friday.

Forrest looked sharper and stronger than his opponent in this last 16 encounter, taking the bout on a unanimous points decision.

After the fight Scott said: “I feel amazing – I’ve never felt better in my life going into these Games. I’ve had good preparation, the first one is done and now it’s onto the rest.”

Meanwhile, Carluke-born boxer Stephen Newns also suffered a quarter-final defeat in the Gold Coast on Tuesday when he went down to a 5-0 points defeat against Fiji’s Winston Hill in the 69kg class.

Team Scotland ace Newns, who had won on points against Tonga’s John Moleni and Australia’s Curlun Richardson in the first two rounds at Oxenford Studios, was surprised by the judges’ unanimous verdict.

He said: “I thought I’d done enough there. I can’t believe it.”