BoxRec

Reliving the scandal of Robin Reid's controversial defeat to Sven Ottke

Robin Reid maintains he should have been awarded the victory in his shocking loss to Germany's Sven Ottke.



At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask when he relieved folk of their treasured belongings.

However, when German Sven Ottke ripped the IBF and WBA titles from the hands of their rightful owner in Nuremberg it was bare-faced robbery!

BoxRec recorded the December 2003 match thus: “Referee Roger Tilleman was widely criticised for an uneven performance that heavily favoured the hometown hero Ottke.

“After missing a knockdown in round six for Reid, instead ruling it a slip, Tilleman deducted a point from Reid for a phantom head butt.”

Looking back, Reid is in no doubt: “It was scandalous, it really was. I clearly won eight rounds to his four. I boxed his head off.

“Myself and Brian Hughes had a game plan. I was doing what I wanted to do but then my manager Jess Harding came up to us after the fifth round and said we had won only one of the rounds on the judges’ scorecard.

“I dropped Ottke in the next round, the sixth, but the referee unbelievably ruled it a slip.

“I knew then I was being stitched and I knew I had to knock him out, which would be a hard job because he had never been stopped. I willingly fought a lot abroad but that night I knew all about a home town decision and it cost me big.”

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/ot ... l-10007035

I remember feeling sickened for Reid after watching this.

I'm going to go against the grain and say it wasn't robbery, or hometown decision.

The ref was overly fussy, that's true and he was very "hands on". Yes he didn't call the KD in the 6th and Ottke was theatrical with the "butt" but watching it with the sound off, as I have done several times since it was on TV...it's not really a terrible decision. Reid seems to give up and pays more attention to the referee than he does trying to win the fight. Very scrappy and untidy fight.

Didn't the ref warn Reid for punching Ottke in one of the rounds? Unbelievable!

Hitting someone too hard in a boxing match? Unbelievable....You'd never find Sven doing anything like that to his opponent.

Good thing the ref caught it and acted accordingly.

Some of those fights over in Germany during that period absolutely stank like the blocked drains at a fish gutting factory.

The deeply tedious Beyer and Ottke were often the main beneficiaries - Maske might have got a couple as well - and Robin belongs to a well populated club of boxers who got a bloody raw deal in The Fatherland.

Axel Schulz - who I actually thought could fight a bit - got gifted a few results that really ponged as well and Akinwande definitely beat him twice despite what the records say.

Can recall how pissed off Calzaghe was (despite the pay cheque) at having to fight Veit again - this time in Germany - and I think he rather enjoyed the second stoppage over there much more than the first. Think Joe was on his A+ game that night because he sensed that nothing could be left to chance fighting in Germany and Veit caught it good and proper.

That fight was unbelievable - a disgrace. It was so blatant.

He was a dud of a WORLD champ but he was a all hearted fighter I can't take that from him

I remember someone once claiming Ottke hit like a woman........and then got knocked out by him.

Redback Rasta wrote:I remember someone once claiming Ottke hit like a woman........and then got knocked out by him.

That's right the amateur who dropped him on his ass but the ref claimed Ottke slipped if you watch and pretend you don't know either guy
the novice should have been ahead on point's but all three judge's had him behind.them robber's

ClivePatrickLyons wrote:

Redback Rasta wrote:I remember someone once claiming Ottke hit like a woman........and then got knocked out by him.

That's right the amateur who dropped him on his ass but the ref claimed Ottke slipped if you watch and pretend you don't know either guy
the novice should have been ahead on point's but all three judge's had him behind.them robber's

It was a commendable performance by the guy in the other corner who was having only his 11th pro fight. But claiming a guy hits like a women and then getting knocked out by him is funny stuff.

Awful decision, I remember this fight well. Reid was truly stitched up. He was fighting the ref and Ottke !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmXnj7rVQ18

The referee should have been disqualified. I had it 115-112 for Reid which should have been 116-111 had that 6th round been properly scored.