BOXING was given a black eye this past week when a technical draw was awarded between Esther Phiri and South Africa’s Sandra Almeida who were vying for the Women International Boxing Association (WIBA) and Women International Boxing Federation (WIBF) welterweight title unification.
The fallout from that controversial decision was that the ‘victor’, the ‘loser’ and the fans were all left bitter. Esther felt robbed of clear victory while Sandra believed she was still in the fight despite the agony she was in.
Should the fight have been allowed to continue? I have seen boxers go the distance with bad cuts which the cut men seal with Vaseline gel. Should the fight have been stopped the way it was to save Sandra from more pain and, more importantly, save her life? These are important questions to think about.
Referee Eddie Marshall’s decision to halt the proceedings was on doctor’s advice, he said, because Sandra suffered a deep accidental cut above her right eye theoretically from a clash of heads.
In line with the rules of the championship, the fight went to the score cards and the verdict was a technical draw because the bout had ended prematurely, before four rounds.
In a careless display of ambivalence, WIBA chief executive officer Ryan Wissow who watched the fight from ringside said the decision was questionable, but that he would not interfere with the referee’s decision. Yes, until rules change on handling sensitive matters like this.
Was the draw a fair decision? William Sekeleti, a seasoned former boxer, judge and referee would not discuss who won, but sheds light on accidental cuts, head butts and fight stoppages.
He says where one boxer, although competent is unable to continue due to an accidental
injury, the boxer ahead on points at the time of the accident gets the decision provided three or more rounds were completed.
If the injury was inflicted by a legitimate blow (or clean punch), the disabled boxer loses the contest, even if he or she was ahead on points at the time.
“If, however, the injury was caused by an illegal blow, the fouled boxer will get the decision even if he was behind on points at the time by a disqualification.” Some of the rules enforced during WIBA championship fights include the following clauses:
(d) Any intentional head butting shall bring about immediate deduction of one point from each judge’s card for that fighter for that round.
(j) Any “intentional foul” causing injury serious enough to terminate a bout immediately will result in the boxer causing the injury to be disqualified.
(k) Any “intentional foul” causing an injury, if the bout is allowed to continue, will result in an immediate deduction of two points from the boxer who caused the foul. Points deductions for intentional fouls are mandatory.
And so, what happened in that fight? Did Esther injure her opponent legitimately or by foul?
The answer, according to replays of the fight footage by Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, is, she did not commit any foul, otherwise she would have been penalised.
The footage showed that Esther hit her opponent four times on the same spot where the cut opened. Wissow the owner of WIBA said: “I didn’t see a clash of heads, but that’s the referee’s decision.”
If the man behind one of the sanctioning bodies can dispute the decision of the referee, then why was the decision not reversed after the fight? Why was the referee not challenged?
These controversies will continue if rules are not revisited and thereby ensure justice for boxers.
Boxing has evolved from a bare knuckle sport with a duration of 21 rounds, then 15 and now 12 rounds for professional bouts for men and 10 for women. Isn’t it time rules on stoppage of fights due to injury were revised?
Esther should have lifted the crowns as she fought a clean fight that produced a sad injury.  Look at it this way; a knockout can end a fight in seconds of the first round, and there’s no doubt about the winner.
Why should there be debate about a boxer who’s been taken to the coolers and can’t continue to fight due to a legitimate accident?
Comments: mwale.simon@yahoo.co.uk 0966755574/ 0953744074