The World Boxing Organization has said it will review the
scoring of the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn welterweight title bout
after the Philippine world champion’s shock loss, but the verdict
will stand.
The WBO announced the move on its website after Pacquiao, backed
by the Philippine government’s sports regulatory body, criticised
the referee and the judges and demanded a review.
The Filipino regulator, the Games and Amusements Board, has also
called for potential sanctions on the referee and judges of the
July 2 Brisbane bout if warranted.
“The purpose of this review is to be able to give the fans
certainty of who was the winner of the bout,” WBO president
Francisco Valcarcel wrote to the Filipino regulator on
Wednesday.
The WBO is to appoint five “anonymous competent judges from
different countries to watch the bout without sound distraction”
then tabulate their round-by-round scoring.
However Valcarcel stressed the WBO did not have the power to
reverse the decision of the fight judges.
“The decision of an official should only be revoked when fraud
or violations of the law occur. I assure you that the officials who
participated in this fight are all professional, distinguished,
honest and honourable human beings,” he added.
He urged the Filipino body to give evidence of fraud or
violation of the law, if any, to the Australian National Boxing
Federation and the WBO.
Both the Filipino board and Pacquiao had criticised American
referee Mark Nelson for supposedly allowing the rank-underdog
Australian to get away with illegal tactics without giving him
warnings or point deductions.
The loss sparked calls in the Philippines for the 38-year-old
Pacquiao, a national icon after rising from poverty to win an
unprecedented eight world titles in different weight classes, to
retire and concentrate on politics.
Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, and his trainer, Freddie Roach, had
said they would advise him to quit boxing.
Pacquiao briefly retired from boxing last year to pursue his
long-held political ambitions and was elected senator. But he
quickly made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in
November, saying he still felt like a youngster.
Pacquiao told a Manila television station a day after the bout
that he will “think hard” about retiring.
The Filipino regulator and Pacquiao’s camp did not immediately
respond to AFP’s requests for comment on the WBO announcement.
The World Boxing Organization has said it will review the
scoring of the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn welterweight title bout
after the Philippine world champion’s shock loss, but the verdict
will stand.
The WBO announced the move on its website after Pacquiao, backed
by the Philippine government’s sports regulatory body, criticised
the referee and the judges and demanded a review.
The Filipino regulator, the Games and Amusements Board, has also
called for potential sanctions on the referee and judges of the
July 2 Brisbane bout if warranted.
“The purpose of this review is to be able to give the fans
certainty of who was the winner of the bout,” WBO president
Francisco Valcarcel wrote to the Filipino regulator on
Wednesday.
The WBO is to appoint five “anonymous competent judges from
different countries to watch the bout without sound distraction”
then tabulate their round-by-round scoring.
However Valcarcel stressed the WBO did not have the power to
reverse the decision of the fight judges.
“The decision of an official should only be revoked when fraud
or violations of the law occur. I assure you that the officials who
participated in this fight are all professional, distinguished,
honest and honourable human beings,” he added.
He urged the Filipino body to give evidence of fraud or
violation of the law, if any, to the Australian National Boxing
Federation and the WBO.
Both the Filipino board and Pacquiao had criticised American
referee Mark Nelson for supposedly allowing the rank-underdog
Australian to get away with illegal tactics without giving him
warnings or point deductions.
The loss sparked calls in the Philippines for the 38-year-old
Pacquiao, a national icon after rising from poverty to win an
unprecedented eight world titles in different weight classes, to
retire and concentrate on politics.
Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, and his trainer, Freddie Roach, had
said they would advise him to quit boxing.
Pacquiao briefly retired from boxing last year to pursue his
long-held political ambitions and was elected senator. But he
quickly made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in
November, saying he still felt like a youngster.
Pacquiao told a Manila television station a day after the bout
that he will “think hard” about retiring.
The Filipino regulator and Pacquiao’s camp did not immediately
respond to AFP’s requests for comment on the WBO announcement.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/wbo-to-review-pacquiao-horn-scoring/