SA boxing officiating suffered another humiliation after yet another bout was scored differently by the review process.
The review followed Sinovuyo “Pink One” Mthintelwa’s protest to Boxing SA after he lost his provincial flyweight title to rising star Siyamthanda Mbali at the Guild Theatre on April 4.
Mthintelwa was declared the loser by a split decision in a fight most ringsiders felt he deserved to win.
His camp filed a protest for a review with BSA, appointing independent judges drawn from other provinces, scoring it in his favour by 97-94 and 96-94 twice.
BSA informed the two parties that negotiations for a rematch should start, though the results would not be changed.
The different outcome of the review follows hot on the heels of a similar bout between KwaZulu-Natal’s Sinamiso Ntuli, who was also declared a loser in his SA super-middleweight title defence against Dylan Prosser in Cape Town on April 18.
The outcome drew condemnation from boxing circles, with spectators feeling Ntuli was robbed of his belt, prompting BSA to institute a review.
BSA chief operations officer Mandla Ntlanganiso said the reviews were instituted after satisfying the requirements set out in the applicable regulations.
“In accordance with the review process, three independent judges from different provinces were appointed to score the fight,” he said.
“All the judges scored the fight in favour of Ntuli by 115-113, 118-110 and 118-110.”
Both review processes follow the outcry in the outcome of the Azinga Fuzile-Asanda Gingqi junior-lightweight clash at the Orient Theatre a fortnight ago, where Gingqi’s promoter, Ayanda Matiti, publicly slammed Fuzile’s win in a post-fight television interview.
While Matiti declined to file a protest, insisting it would serve no purpose, especially as there was no title at stake, it was another black eye to BSA officiating.
Ntlanganiso could not say if there would be action taken against the officials who rendered a different outcome to that of the review process in both bouts.
Mthintelwa’s manager, Khwezi Booi, welcomed the review outcome, though he lamented the loss his fighter would have to live with due to injustice.
“We knew Pink One did not lose that fight but was undone by the judges,” he said.
“He lost his belt by default, and his record will forever show a loss against his name, and that tarnishes his legacy.”
Ntlanganiso confirmed that officiating was receiving attention, with refresher courses scheduled for the officials.
BSA recently suspended an Eastern Cape-born Johannesburg official after a string of dubious bouts.
However, the suspension was viewed as the tip of the iceberg due to rampant controversial decisions in almost every tournament.
The constant review of controversial bouts has also drawn mixed reactions in boxing circles, with some questioning the independence of the judges appointed when they are also registered with BSA.
Matiti, who is the chair of the National Boxing Promoters’ Association, highlighted the flaws in the process, arguing that the BSA needed to alter the rules and regulations to give it more teeth to deal with the pandemic.
“So far, this whole process is flawed and does not address the core problem faced with boxing,” he said.
Daily Dispatch
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