Eimantas Stanionis vs. Luis Collazo - August 7, 2021

[Zhuge]

I haven't watched a lot of boxing over the last 2-3 years. The switch to nearly all televised shows being the PBC ones hasn't improved the sport in my opinion. In watching the card last night, I fully expected Devon Alexander to get an undeserved decision and was happy when the judges got it right.

But of course,, that was short lived when Mykal Fox was completely robbed. The WBA should be ashamed at having any of those judges allowed to officiate any of their title matches. For the person mentioning they should be banned -- it won't happen. For decades there have been incompetent (or outright corrupt) judges and they continue to get assigned high profile bouts. Just like there are incompetent referees that, because of their connections, can continue getting high profile assignments despite doing poor jobs.

Also, whoever is in charge of the boxing or athletics commission in Minnesota should be ashamed for essentially allowing Maestre's corner to skin the gloves (which their supervisor signed off on). It's a good thing Fox's corner noticed it before the fight even started (not that it ultimately mattered given the absolute robbery).

[margaret thatcher]

i read that the wba is gonna order an immediate rematch...

[Ruthless-RKO]

i read that the wba is gonna order an immediate rematch...

Shouldn’t even be for the interim belt.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Julian Williams, a former world champion, joined those voicing concern.

“I’m going to stop watching boxing for a few weeks. I’m disgusted,” J Rock said of the Fox decision.

Respected boxing scribe Keith Idec added: "EVERYONE, including Maestre, knows he lost tonight. It’s a damn shame for Mykal Fox, who deserved so much better than this gross incompetence.”

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A second in Adam Abramowitz predicted the event could happen. He said: "This would be an absolute abomination if Mykal Fox gets robbed. I say this because Maestre has some important friends.”

[maverick23]

So one of the judges had this on their Twitter….



If this is legit the it’s crazy that she’s been allowed to judge when she’s evidently a racist and it’s unbelievable that the WBA didn’t pick up on it.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Maestre-Fox: WBA To investigate Scoring, Suggests Potential Rematch To Be Ordered

The worst in-ring decision of the year—and perhaps of recent memory—is officially under review.

An investigation into the scoring of the August 7 welterweight fight between Venezuela’s Gabriel Maestre (4-0, 3KOs) and Maryland’s Mykal Fox (22-3, 5KOs) has been ordered by the World Boxing Association (WBA), whose title was at stake for the contest. Maestre was awarded the win by unanimous decision, in a fight nearly everyone who watched live believed that Fox only deserved to win, but in dominant fashion.

“The review of the fight was ordered immediately,” Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, president of the WBA declared Sunday evening.

The bout aired live on Fox TV from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fox scored a knockdown in round two and appeared to dominate the majority of the ensuing rounds through clean punching and superior ring generalship. That viewpoint clearly wasn’t shared by judges Gloria Martinez Rizzo (117-110), John Mariano (115-112) and David Singh (114-113), who were unanimous in favor of Maestre.

The action taken so far is similar to the aftermath of the March 13 World junior bantamweight championship rematch between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez. Estrada prevailed by split decision, in a fight many felt should have been scored in favor of Gonzalez.

The most offensive of the scorecards that night was provided by Carlos Sucre, whose 117-111 tally in favor of Estrada was enough for the WBA to announce his suspension from future sanctioning body-branded fights. The action, of course, rings hollow as Sucre is free to work any fight not involving the WBA as a sanctioning body does not have the ability to issue an industry-wide suspension—be it a ring official or a boxer.

Little in the way of reform will come from any investigation surrounding this fight unless any action is taken by the presiding commission. The fight took place under the supervision of the Minnesota Office Of Combative Sports, whose office would have to call for an investigation in order to take any action.

State commissions infrequently take that approach, and even rarer is the occasion when it results in any discipline of substance. One notable exception came in the July 2011 clash between Paul Williams and Erislandy Lara in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Williams was awarded a majority decision in an HBO-televised bout that Lara clearly deserved to win. The decision was so poor that all three judges— Donald Givens (116-114), Hilton Whitaker (115-114) and Al Bennett (114-114)—were issued indefinite suspensions by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board.

Williams-Lara was a junior middleweight title eliminator as sanctioned by the World Boxing Council (WBC), though the three judges were all assigned and approved by the New Jersey commission.

The WBA has already made sure to point out that the three judges from Saturday’s contest were similarly approved by the presiding commission.

“The judges, who were also accepted by the Minnesota Commission, will be interviewed individually,” claims Mendoza.

The worst offender of the bunch—Martinez-Rizzo—has strong ties to the WBA, having been named the sanctioning body’s 2019 Boxing Judge of the Year. The Miami-based judge is married to longtime boxing personality Ricardo Rizzo, who has served as a matchmaker, judge and supervisor in addition to his more active role as an independent adviser to managers, fight promoters and sanctioning bodies.

Fox and his team will likely appeal the decision, though the truth of the matter is that they were left unprotected heading into the bout.

Maestre is very clearly a favorite among the WBA family, who didn’t take any real issue with the official decision in the aftermath. Their initial post-fight reaction was to simply acknowledge Maestre as the winner and its new “interim” welterweight titlist.

Neither was the horrifically scored bout acknowledged at all by Premier Boxing Champions, who represents both fighters and has thus remained neutral. The post-fight press release from PBC merely stated that “two-time Venezuelan Olympian Gabriel Maestre (4-0, 3 KOs) won a close unanimous decision over Mykal Fox (22-3, 5 KOs) to capture the Interim WBA Welterweight Title.”

The bout was the chief support of a televised tripleheader and the only fight of the three with a belt at stake. The other two bouts—Lucas Santamaria in a ten-round win over Devon Alexander and a No-Decision in the main event between Eimantas Stanionis and Luis Collazo—were fought in front of ringside judges entirely appointed by the Minnesota commission.

Without the bogus interim title at stake, Maestre-Fox would have also come with local officials assigned. Because of PBC’s obsession with participation trophy culture and its cozy relationship with the WBA, the assigned officials were plucked from a list of WBA-licensed judges. Judge Mariano was the only of the three who is locally based. Martinez-Rizzo is based out of Miami, while Singh is from Panama City. Martinez-Rizzo managed to fly under the radar, despite her recently discovered sordid history of overt racism towards African-Americans and—a distant second—extreme political views expressed on her since-deleted Twitter account.

The only suggestion of justice offered in the same PBC post-fight release was quoting Maestre’s willingness to grant a rematch to Fox. That sentiment has been echoed by the WBA

“Based on the preliminary scorecards received indicates a direct rematch could be ordered,” noted Mendoza.

A rematch does not resolve the issue of corrupt and/or inept officiating. Neither does an independently-conducted investigation with limited—if any—consequences.

[Ruthless-RKO]

So one of the judges had this on their Twitter….



If this is legit the it’s crazy that she’s been allowed to judge when she’s evidently a racist and it’s unbelievable that the WBA didn’t pick up on it.

She also claimed NBA legend LeBron James to be “so stupid that all he can do is play basketball, other than that go back to the (thoroughbred) stable), all within the past 14 months.

[ironbeard]

All three judges should be suspended pending investigation.

This was worse than 3G v Canelo I.

[world ranked]

So one of the judges had this on their Twitter….



If this is legit the it’s crazy that she’s been allowed to judge when she’s evidently a racist and it’s unbelievable that the WBA didn’t pick up on it.

She also claimed NBA legend LeBron James to be “so stupid that all he can do is play basketball, other than that go back to the (thoroughbred) stable), all within the past 14 months.

And we recently had a post saying racism is not widespread anymore.

[margaret thatcher]

lol that she also won a judge of the year award from the wba

[ldlamb]

She has given decisions to black American fighters before.

This decision was rigged because of nationality and money….not because of social media posts.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

WBA suspending judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo after controversial scorecard, discovery of racist tweets

WBA president Gilberto Mendoza told ESPN on Wednesday that he is suspending judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo for six months following her highly controversial scorecard in the Mykal Fox-Gabriel Maestre interim welterweight title fight and the uncovering of racist tweets on an account belonging to her.

Mendoza said he will meet with Rizzo on Thursday in Miami to discuss discipline and will consider permanent expulsion from judging fights sanctioned by the WBA.

Rizzo turned in a head-scratching 117-110 scorecard Saturday in Minnesota, sparking outrage. Most observers thought Fox, who scored a second-round knockdown, clearly won the 147-pound fight in an upset. But it was Maestre who was declared the winner by unanimous decision in the PBC on Fox co-feature.

After the fight, racist tweets from 2020 were discovered on a Twitter account for @GloriaRizz, which had been tagged by the official WBA Boxing account in a December 2019 post celebrating Rizzo as female judge of the year. The @GloriaRizz account has since been deleted. Among the racist posts were remarks against Michelle Obama and LeBron James.

"We saw her score was wrong despite the unanimous decision," said Mendoza, who was born in Venezuela, where the WBA is based. "Those comments she made in the past -- she might be expelled by the WBA.

"I don't support any kind of racism. I believe in equality. ... Sports are the only thing that brings equality into the world sometimes."

While Rizzo's scorecard was the most problematic, the other two judges also had Maestre winning. John Mariano scored the fight 115-112; David Singh turned in a 114-113 tally.

Maestre (4-0, 3 KOs) is a native of Venezuela and holds a close relationship with Mendoza. A two-time Olympian, Maestre, 34, was making his U.S. debut and stepped up in competition for it.

Fox, a southpaw from Maryland, was coming off a decision loss to Lucas Santamaria in August. The 25-year-old, who is Black, told ESPN he "was a little surprised" by Rizzo's tweets.

"This sport has introduced me to people from different walks of life," said Fox (22-3, 5 KOs). "But I can't help but wonder if the person that she is outside of boxing affects how she judges boxing.

"If it weren't for it being on TV, I'd say this [decision] could do really bad for me. But people around the world witnessed a robbery that night."

The Minnesota Office of Combative Sports didn't respond when asked whether the result would be overturned; only the commission has the power to do so. It also didn't comment when asked whether the commission would review the scoring of the fight. Instead, it sent ESPN a statement saying, "The Minnesota Office of Combative Sports has a grievance procedure. However, it is ultimately up to the World Boxing Association to determine if there is a rematch."

Mendoza ordered an immediate rematch between Maestre and Fox but added a few stipulations. He told ESPN that there will be no champion's advantage; if there is a draw, the title will be vacated. And there will be no special permits to allow an interim fight. PBC was hoping to match fast-rising prospect Eimantas Stanionis against Maestre next, sources said. If for some reason the rematch doesn't take place next, the title will be in abeyance.

"We need to get new judges," Mendoza said. "I have a concept of making an academy and bringing people who like boxing to online courses and test them in different parts of the world. I want to step away from the boxing circle and find fans who like boxing [to become judges]."