Don King laments controversial refereeing in Joseph Agbeko’s bout against Abner Mares – Boxing news
The mega showdown between Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko for the International Boxing Federation’s and World Boxing Council’s Silver championship belt last Saturday on August 13, 2011 at the Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be
remembered as a foul-fest.
Though the challenger Mares won the bout by a majority points’ decision over the Ghanaian warrior, Agbeko, everybody was left flabbergasted with Russell Mora’s one-sided refereeing for the Golden Boy’s boxer, Mares.
Mora at first ignored numerous low blows from Mares and then afterwards when Agbeko went off balance and hit the canvas, Mora counted it as a knockdown. However, the most obvious misfortune came in the 11th round when Agbeko was
hit right on the cup in front of the referee and was assessed a knockdown.
Boxing Promoter Don King was very critical of Mora’s refereeing as he reckons Mora robbed a great show and left everyone disappointed.
King told the media he loves the Nevada State as it has always been prominent when it comes to sports especially but after the Agbeko-Mares bout he has been hurt. King believes it was not fair and makes one feel bad for the sport.
While speaking on his inclusion, he said, “Nevada is No. 1 in the world for the sport of boxing, but you have to realize it’s also No. 1 as the state of gaming. You need to maintain a reputation as a place with impeccable integrity and honesty in both boxing
and gaming.”
“What I saw [Saturday] night was either total incompetence or corruption. It’s so outrageous. The last one, Mares hit him directly in the [groin] and he was down, writhing in pain on his knees, and the referee called it a knockdown. It was so outrageous
and makes you question everything you hold holy,” King added.
After all what has happened in the Agbeko-Mares bout last Saturday, it is fair to say that the chances of a rematch are pretty much there. However let’s see if Agbeko gets another chance to take on Mares.
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