BoxRec

Nicky Piper looked like he was sharpening the knives last night on Ringside. Bobby Vanzie is going to be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute by the looks of things. That, at worst, could mean a sine die ban. I doubt they'll go that far but they're definitely going to hit him hard. I fear for his future.

Did you see him put his serious face on? I was laughing my head off! He went from joking around with Nelson and the Midget, then went all stony faced and got on his high horse.

I missed what Vanzie said Bennie. Can you enlighten me on what exactly this situation is about. Obviously Bobby was not happy with the decision going against him again but what did he say afterwards and what was Brainbox? Piper's retort.

DIRT SUGAR wrote:I missed what Vanzie said Bennie. Can you enlighten me on what exactly this situation is about. Obviously Bobby was not happy with the decision going against him again but what did he say afterwards and what was Brainbox? Piper's retort.

He said he stuck by he's statement last time out, which was that the game is corrupt!

he ws penalised heavy then and will be again.

Kevo wrote:Did you see him put his serious face on? I was laughing my head off! He went from joking around with Nelson and the Midget, then went all stony faced and got on his high horse.

lol can't wait to watch it later on. Did they show any of the Castillo fight BTW?

Vanzie doesnt care hes calling him all sort of names somewhere else.

How the hell can he get a ban for that!? It makes me sick and for the record, I 100% agreed with Vanzie's words.

Vanzie won that damn fight and that judge screwed him. The game IS getting corrupt, and although I will always be a boxing fan, I just can't get into it with the same passion that I used to, even five or so years ago!

I think its a disgrace for boxing that vanzie never got the decision let alone the fact that they are gonna fine/ban him for speaking his mind.

DIRT SUGAR wrote:I missed what Vanzie said Bennie. Can you enlighten me on what exactly this situation is about. Obviously Bobby was not happy with the decision going against him again but what did he say afterwards and what was Brainbox? Piper's retort.

After the first Earl fight, Vanzie said: "At the end of the day you've got this cocky black kid coming down south to challenge the next up and coming white hope at lightweight - I beat him and I was unjustly robbed.
"I know it's an old saying in this game but I do feel I won that fight by at least three rounds.
"I feel that in order to beat the champion you've got to snatch it from his grasp and he never did that."

After the second fight: he labelled the game "corrupt" among many other emotional statements. "They want me out but I'm going nowhere, I'm gonna get that belt back, trust me. There needs to be an enquiry. You do not have to be Einstein to work out what's going on in the game. That Terry O'Connor needs sorting out. I thought I won it by at least five rounds."
He also said he stood by his comments from the first fight.
Piper's anger was visible after the Vanzie interview on the night of the fight itself and last night on Ringside he said: "Comments like that do bring the sport into disrepute. He (Vanzie) also went further and said the comments he made after the last fight he stands by - and some of those were racially discriminating and it does it put the sport in a bad light."


PS: Referee O'Connor was accused by Stephen Smith's camp of allowing Vanzie to turn a losing fight into a winning one by virtue of several low blows. Rough with the smooth in my opinion.

A ban will show the board up for what they are. Bunch of muppets lording it over all and sundry. Sad that Nicky Piper, a former fighter himself, can't understand Vanzie's frustration.

I know i've said it before, but Piper should not be given a pundits role on ringside while he's working for the board. He is in no way an impartial judge and because of his position he cannot comment objectively on the ref's performance. It also strikes me as a little unfair to have him there, taking the boards side, but not invite Vanzie on the program to fight his corner.

Vanzie is a martyr, banned for telling the truth.

Should Piper be out promoting the new Harry Potter movie anyhow?

In my opinion the BBBofC are incompetent, but, I don't think they're corrupt. There's a big difference.

Vanzie, by crying "racism", doesn't get my support, his skin colour has nothing to do with this situation. It is out of order when members of ethnic minorites bring up the race issue whenever something doesn't go right for them. It puts the people they are accusing in a very awkward position and that is why they often fold. I am therefore glad the board are standing up to Bobby.

As it happens, I'd have raised his hand at the end of the contest, but, whilever you let humans, or in this case a human, judge fights you will get subjectivity.

That's why I think they should keep going until one drops or one quits.

I have lost a lot of respect for Piper over the last week or so. What he said about Vanzie's comments last year being racist was just fornicating out of order.

I have to say, throwing around accusations which hint at racism is obviously going to land you in hot water, and Vanzie should have had the sense to realise there would be fallout from that.

More than ever, it's time to get rid of the ridiculous situation where referees judge fights. How on earth can a referee keep his mind on the action, and also work out who has won each round, ludicrous!

adamiw wrote:What he said about Vanzie's comments last year being racist was just fornicating out of order.

I disagree.

Vanzie basically accused the board of being racist. He had no evidence to back up his comments and it was not proven, as far as I know he did not even report the alleged act(s) of racism to the police.

If a black man falsely accuses a group of white men (or vice versa) of racism for his own gain - the gain may be financial, retribution for something, etc, etc - he is surely the true racist, is he not?

While I disagree with Bobbys view of racism (Jimmy Vincent was robbed vs Barnes and he's white which shows that the powers that be are fairly equality concious when ripping fighters off!) I understand why he said those remarks (and certainly the fact that he is black and comes from Bradford doesn't do him any favours!) I agree with everything else he said about corruption in the game.... this has shown that if you fall out with certain parties then you will be given the treatment and Bobby has got the treatment twice now against Earl..... and he is about to get another load from Mr Piper and his suited friends..... how do these people sleep at night?........ they want him out!...

Kilburn wrote:lol can't wait to watch it later on. Did they show any of the Castillo fight BTW?

No, and it was probablythe most entertaining fight of the night.

About Piper, I think he's been allowed to be a pundit by the board, so that when situations like this arise, they can put their side of the argument across straight away. Piper's nothing more than a puppet.

As I grew up in the same area as Stephen Smith and kind of 'knew' him I've always had a dislike for Vanzie after feeling he cheated Smith out of their fight.

However I did fell a little sympathy for Vanzie after this fight (I never saw the first), he pretty much dominated proceedings. It was a shite decision for sure.

I don't personally think its a racism thing or even an house promoter thing. I just believe the refs viewpoint were clouded by a dislike for Bobby's fight plan.

I don't think O'Connor or anyone involved in the BBBoC are racist yet I knew Vanzie was down of the official scorecard, cause you could tell the ref prefered the tactics/attitude of Earl, which effected his judgment.

I think Vanzie won both fights, the second one decisively (and a good performance). It just O'Connor didn't like his boxing, not because of his skin colour.

As a said earlier, I think it was the same with the last Williams vs Sprott fight - Williams was a clear winner to most, yet though I could tell the ref wasn't pleased with Williams' attidude and it was (even subconsciously) clouding his judgment. Lets not forget, it was Williams' who was the "house" fighter and champion, and both are black so it cannot be racists.

We need 3 judges, I'm sure with 3 judges Williams, Vanzie and Vincent would have been victorious. Although, Colin Lynes still got a gift with three, so it might not cure the problem, but it will easy it.

Looks like this argument ain't over yet.

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