Irish boxer Michael Conlan has thanked a young boy for offering him a medal after his defeat in Rio yesterday.

Five-year-old Finn McManus wrote a letter telling the Belfast boxer: "I saw your fight in Rio and you should have won because you are the bet boxer in the world."

"I want you to have my school medal because you are a winner."

The letter was posted by Finn's aunt on Facebook.

Image: Facebook/Marie Kirk

In reply, Conlan tweeted: "Very warming message from this young lad, if anyone knows who he is, could they please tell him I have a gift for him."

Very warming message from this young lad, if anyone knows who he is, could they please tell him I hve a gift for him pic.twitter.com/0SQJ63TvEr

— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) August 17, 2016

Conlan said yesterday he felt cheated by his controversial Rio points defeat to Russian Vladimir Nikitin.

It looked like Conlan had won his Olympic quarter-final, before the judges ruled in favour of his opponent.

Following the bout, Conlan called the International Boxing Association (AIBA) "cheating bastards", and vowed never to compete in amateur competitions again.

"Amateur boxing stinks, from the core right to the top," he said.

"AIBA are cheats...They're paying everybody...I was here to win Olympic gold. My dreams are shattered now," he added.

However AIBA claim his comments are groundless, and say they strive for a "fair, level playing field".