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Home » WBA order Maestre vs Fox rematch, but again ignore judge’s racist tweets

WBA order Maestre vs Fox rematch, but again ignore judge’s racist tweets

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Releasing a statement on Tuesday, the World Boxing Association made a final ruling on the controversial Maestre vs Fox clash last weekend.

Gabriel Maestre got crowned WBA interim welterweight champion on a PBC on FOX broadcast, scoring an unfathomable unanimous decision.

Mykal Fox dominated the fight and was the rightful winner by any stretch of the imagination to anyone with one eyeball. But not with the WBA judges.

All three carded in favor of Maestre. One scorer, Gloria Martinez Rizzo, by an unforgivable 117-110 to Maestre. This card came back despite Fox dropping Maestre in the second round.

Rather than correctly reversing the result, WBA chiefs ordered a second fight to guarantee them another sanctioning fee.

They stated: “The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee ordered a direct rematch for the bout between Gabriel Maestre and Mykal Fox, which took place last Saturday in Minneapolis for the interim welterweight title.

“The resolution issued on Tuesday by the pioneer body highlights that there are enough elements to order a direct rematch as requested by Marshall Kauffman, Fox’s promoter.

“The fight was close and controversial, with Maestre winning on cards of 114-114, 115-112, and 117-110. The WBA reviewed the fight round by round as per rule C.26 and determined that it was close enough to order a second bout between the two.

“The parties have 30 days to finalize the terms of the rematch from the date of the resolution, and if they do not reach an agreement within the established period, the WBA will call for an auction.”

Gloriz Martinez Rizz World Boxing Association judge racism racist

MAESTRE vs FOX JUDGE

In their information, the WBA didn’t address the main talking point from the whole debacle. Disgusting racist tweets from Rizzo that were uncovered via social media.

Rizzo judging against a black man when clearly posting derogatory opinions on black figures is something everyone with a conscience in boxing wants the WBA to investigate.

At the very least, Rizzo should be struck off from ever judging again. Not just for her poor card, either. Some of the things coming from her ratified account are horrendous.

The links between the WBA and corruption allegations won’t go away until they clean house – beginning with Rizzo. She’s also the wife of a highly-ranked WBA Executive.

The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.

Phil Jay is the Editor of WBN. An Auxiliary member of the Boxing Writers Association of America since 2018. And a member of the Sports Journalists’ Association. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.