The Taylor-Catterall Brouhaha is Mindful of Another ‘Injustice’

Published

3 years ago

March 11, 2022

The-Taylor-Catterall-Brouhaha-is-Mindful-of-Another-Injustice

On Feb. 26, unified 140-pound world champion Josh Taylor retained all of his belts with a split decision over Jack Catterall before a sellout crowd at the OVO Hydro arena in Glasgow, Scotland. As bad decisions go, this was hardly one of the worst of all time — not even close – but it ranks among the worst of all time in terms of the backlash. One would have to go back 30 years to find a decision that caused such a big stink.

On Feb. 8, 1992, James “Lights Out” Toney successfully defended his IBF world middleweight title with a split decision over David Tiberi at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. One of the judges had Tiberi winning by a 117-111 score, but he was out-voted by his colleagues who both had it 115-112 for Toney. There were no knockdowns but the referee took a point away from Tiberi in round six for a low blow.

The verdict sparked a federal investigation. The spearhead, as one might have guessed, was a politician from Tiberi’s own district, namely Sen. William V. Roth Jr. of Delaware. Roth, who watched the fight on television, decried the decision as “outrageous” on the Senate floor while setting the wheels in motion for an investigation that he hoped would lead to the establishment of a federal boxing commission.

Sen. Roth re-appeared this week in the form of Sir Lindsay Hoyle, a parliamentarian from the Borough of Chorley in the County of Lancashire which happens to be Jack Catterall’s home district. “I have to question why the judges got it so wrong,” said MP Hoyle who is the Speaker of the House of Commons. “I have already sent a letter to the police.”

The Toney-Tiberi and Taylor-Catterall incidents had a lot in common. In both cases, the stakes were high. In both cases, there was drama as there always is when a Cinderella story is brewing and those that came to vicariously identify with the underdog as the fight progressed were denied the satisfaction of a storybook ending. And it mattered greatly that both fights were televised at an hour when a lot of people would be watching. (Toney-Tiberi aired on ABC at 5 pm ET on a Saturday.)

Josh Taylor won no new fans with his comments after the bout. “I don’t think there is any need for a rematch,” he said. “I won the second half of the fight. I took over and bossed him.” But the brunt of the fallout was born by judge Ian John-Lewis. His scorecard, 114-111 for the Tartan Tornado, tilted the heaviest toward the victor.

John-Lewis gave Taylor eight of the 12 rounds which included his 9-9 tally in Round 11 when Taylor was penalized one point for hitting Catterall a split second after the bell, a “make-up call” by referee Marcus McDonnell to atone for his questionable call in round nine when he took a point away from Catterall for excessive holding.

Ian John-Lewis won’t be judging another internationally important prizefight for quite some time. The British Boxing Board of Control, which classifies ring officials into tiers, has demoted him.

John-Lewis, a former pro boxer of no great distinction, is primarily known as a referee. He’s been doing it (judging and refereeing) since 1993 and has had some choice assignments. He’s been the third man in the ring for such notables as Ricky Hatton, Bernard Hopkins, Adonis Stevenson, and Vitali Klitschko, to name just four.

The title of Ian John-Lewis’s 2014 book, “I am the Referee,” details how he overcame his tough upbringing to become the first black man in Great Britain to become a world class referee. (It’s a curious book, full of self-serving testimonials, written in the first person yet credited to “author” John Heffernan who apparently did nothing more than turn on the tape recorder.)

So, the decision by the BBBofC is a double-whammy for poor Mr. John-Lewis, who won’t be getting any coveted assignments as a judge in the immediate future and will undoubtedly have a harder time peddling his book. But having said that, one could argue that he has been scapegoated, served up as a sacrificial lamb to appease the wolves.

When the final bell rang, signaling that the 12-round bout was going to the scorecards, history was solidly against Jack Catterall.

Years ago, there was a general feeling that a title ought not change hands on a close fight. The thinking was that the challenger had to “earn” it by winning convincingly, demonstrating his mastery, so to speak. Although Catterall scored the bout’s lone knockdown, he didn’t do that. The overwhelming consensus on social media is that he was robbed, but the feeling wasn’t unanimous. It was a messy fight and many of the rounds were close.

Catterall was up against it fighting a Scotsman in Glasgow. In no other sport does the home field advantage weigh so heavily in the handicapping equation. A world-weary fight manager at New York’s fabled Stillman’s Gym was overheard asking this question while talking on the pay phone to an out-of-town promoter: “If we win, can we get a draw?”

Catterall didn’t win, but he earned a lot of respect and his next fight will likely bring him the largest purse of his career. David Tiberi reportedly got $26,000 for his match with James Toney and was offered $140,000 for the rematch. (He spurned it and never fought again.)

True, whatever Catterall earns will be less than what he would have earned had he won the titles. And that is why it is so important that the judges get it right. Thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars in future earnings, life-changing money, can evaporate when a boxer is the victim of a rank decision.

Scribes who have used the word scandalous while referencing the Taylor-Catterall decision are over-stating matters. However, there was a recent scandalous event involving a boxing judge.

WBA judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo’s dumbfounding scorecard for the Aug. 7, 2021 fight in Minneapolis between Gabriel Maestre and Mykal Fox was truly an outrage and it appeared that we had seen the last of her when she was revealed to be an unabashed racist. But no, there she was back in action on Feb. 11, working five of seven bouts on a card in Miami.

WBA president Gilberto Mendoza had no recourse but to suspend her once her racist tweets surfaced. He said the suspension would be indefinite. As we have seen, that was a very liberal interpretation of “indefinite.”

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Arne K. Lang

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

2 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

2 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

3 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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