Judges, referees take a beating as teams cry foul over results
Source: Agencies |
August 3, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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OLYMPIC judges and referees came under fire with one fighter accusing them of "a fix", another successfully appealing a loss and even boxing great Lennox Lewis questioning some of their calls.
Iran's Ali Mazaheri cried foul when the heavyweight was disqualified after being warned three times for persistent holding against Cuban Jose Larduet Gomez despite leading by two points going into the second round.
"It was a fix. I could have got a bronze easily if it hadn't been for that," an irate Mazaheri, who walked out of the ring before the decision was officially announced, told reporters. "In my previous fights I had done really well. It was a set up."
The International Amateur Boxing Association responded to Mazaheri's allegations, saying: "The Iranian boxer received three warnings during his bout.
"According to Rule 12.2.1 of the AIBA Technical & Competition Rules, 'only three warnings may be given to the same boxer in one contest. The third warning brings automatic disqualification'."
Two bouts earlier, Japan's bantamweight Satoshi Shimizu, trailing by seven points going into the last round against Magomed Abdulhamidov, knocked the Azerbaijani down six times, the first of which he struggled to get up from.
The judges scored the round 10-10, handing Shimizu two extra points for a warning against Abdulhamidov, who propped himself up against the top rope as the referee raised his hand in victory.
The 25-year-old fighter was helped out of the ring by his trainer and Shimizu's team appealed the outcome.
After deliberating for over an hour, AIBA said the referee should have given the Azerbaijani fighter "at least" three standing counts which would have resulted in the contest being stopped. They, therefore, overturned the result, handing victory to Shimizu, who was staggered by the original decision hours earlier.
"I was shocked about the result. He fell down so many times. Why didn't I win? I don't understand," Shimizu said.
"This is my second Olympics and even in Beijing I wasn't happy about the judgement, so I don't know what to do about that."
Former world heavyweight champion Lewis said he was impressed by the talent on show but had concerns about the judging. "What I'm concerned about is probably the judging. You never know who is going to win until the end of the fight," Lewis said.
Iran's Ali Mazaheri cried foul when the heavyweight was disqualified after being warned three times for persistent holding against Cuban Jose Larduet Gomez despite leading by two points going into the second round.
"It was a fix. I could have got a bronze easily if it hadn't been for that," an irate Mazaheri, who walked out of the ring before the decision was officially announced, told reporters. "In my previous fights I had done really well. It was a set up."
The International Amateur Boxing Association responded to Mazaheri's allegations, saying: "The Iranian boxer received three warnings during his bout.
"According to Rule 12.2.1 of the AIBA Technical & Competition Rules, 'only three warnings may be given to the same boxer in one contest. The third warning brings automatic disqualification'."
Two bouts earlier, Japan's bantamweight Satoshi Shimizu, trailing by seven points going into the last round against Magomed Abdulhamidov, knocked the Azerbaijani down six times, the first of which he struggled to get up from.
The judges scored the round 10-10, handing Shimizu two extra points for a warning against Abdulhamidov, who propped himself up against the top rope as the referee raised his hand in victory.
The 25-year-old fighter was helped out of the ring by his trainer and Shimizu's team appealed the outcome.
After deliberating for over an hour, AIBA said the referee should have given the Azerbaijani fighter "at least" three standing counts which would have resulted in the contest being stopped. They, therefore, overturned the result, handing victory to Shimizu, who was staggered by the original decision hours earlier.
"I was shocked about the result. He fell down so many times. Why didn't I win? I don't understand," Shimizu said.
"This is my second Olympics and even in Beijing I wasn't happy about the judgement, so I don't know what to do about that."
Former world heavyweight champion Lewis said he was impressed by the talent on show but had concerns about the judging. "What I'm concerned about is probably the judging. You never know who is going to win until the end of the fight," Lewis said.
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