Another “quiet” weekend on the professional boxing world stage.
“Quiet,” yes like in “riot.”
In Germany, there was a scoring controversy as Marco Huck, popular local, retained his WBO cruiserweight title with a split decision over feisty Russian Denis Lebedev.
In Canada, the Bernard Hopkins-Jean Pascal judging dispute rages on from their 12 round WBC light heavyweight title majority draw (Quebec City) and will go on for some time.
Both camps have supporters and many feel a draw was a fair conclusion but Americans fans generally seem to think 45 year old BHop got BRobbed when the points were tabulated.
In Argentina, there is a continuing uproar after homeland hero Jose Luis Lazarte continually fouled Mexican visitor Ulises Solis, including a graphic, third round neck chomping, but still walked out of the Mar del Plata ring with a split decision decision and the IBF miniflyweight title.
It’s the latter beef that’s been thrown in the lap of IBF president Daryl J. Peoples.
Peoples is finishing out his first year in office after a late May office coup which saw and Lindsey Tucker take over the sancitoning body while Marian Muhammad and Larry Hazzard got the heave-ho.
Muhammad called Peoples and Tucker “cutthroats” and “snakes” for their actions.
“I was out of the office today (Monday),” Peoples told me Monday night from his New Jersey home. “I’ve been reading the critical articles and I’ve been bombared with phone calls and emails on this.
“Tomorrow, I will carefully review the tape and the (expected official) protest from (promoter) Fernando Beltran on behalf of Solis. Any protest will go to a three person group of three selected IBF officials, obviously not any involved in refereeing or judging this bout.”
Besides the scoring, which was 117-109 for Solis and two 113-113 votes which made it a mjaority draw, there’s been grumbling about Florida ref Max Parker and his inability to communicate with the two Spanish speaking fighters and their respective cornermen.
Peoples forthrightly admitted he knew of this objection before the match.
“Parker had a career in law enforcement in Florida, around Talahassee I think, so I assumed he spoke or knew some Spanish,” Peoples said. “Still, I didn’t think he needed much because I did not think there would be a real disparity in his giving instructions at the rules meeting or in the dressing room.”
Let’s hope that Parker does not “cop” a plea but maybe no one asked him how much espanol he knows.
Peoples, who took over as IBF leader when longtime president Muhammad was deposed, said the eight point swing in the judges’ voting does disturb him.
“Yes, it does because it’s unusual and that’s something else we look very closely at.”
Europe, North America, South America…come on, we only had boxing officiating squabbles on three of the seven continents this past Saturday night.
I’m hearing there was no contrversy in Antarctica, all the favored penguins won.
