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Home » WBA fan protests grow over lack of racism action and corruption claims

WBA fan protests grow over lack of racism action and corruption claims

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  • 3 min read

World Boxing Association chiefs face a backlash after failing to address alleged racist tweets by one of their judges via social media.

The wife of a highly-ranked WBA Executive, Gloria Martinez Rizzo, came under fire on the back of a dire performance during an interim WBA welterweight title clash.

Rizzo, voted 2019 Female Judge of the Year by the WBA, scored the Gabriel Maestre vs. Mykal Fox fight 117-110. Fans and media instantly scrutinized the shock card.

Maestre was dropped in the second round and lost at least eight more rounds. However, Rizzo somehow saw the contest 10-2 to the Venezuelan.

A deeper look into Rizzo then uncovered some horrific responses and posts with racial overtones. The staunch Donald Trump supporter had labeled the former First Lady Michelle Obama “Monkey Face” and called for the co-founder of Black Lives Matter to be “killed” for his stance against Trump.

World Boxing News followed the story immediately and sent WBA President Gilberto Mendoza every piece of evidence at our disposal.

Despite having everything he needed to act, Mendoza merely announced that reviewing the scoring would be sufficient.

Two days later, the WBA ordered an immediate rematch, ensuring further sanctioning fees for the WBN declassified body.

Fans took to social media to state this was nowhere near enough as Fox now had a loss on his record that anyone with any knowledge of boxing could have seen he didn’t deserve.

Several claims of corruption are circulating. They include some high-profile figures in the boxing world.

Gloriz Martinez Rizz World Boxing Association judge racism racist

WORLD BOXING ASSOCIATION RACISM STORM

But it’s the racism that sticks out the most in this case. Whatever happens with Maestre vs. Fox, the World Boxing Association holds all the cards on that one. The racism has to be addressed, which the WBA are simply attempting to sweep under the carpet.

Rizzo deleted her account after plenty took several screenshots.

In this day and age, with the current climate, the racism of this form has to be out in the open and punishments laid out for those who commit those acts.

The WBA refusing to acknowledge the tweets is a clear sign for the sport that they have no intention of putting their house in order.

A revolt against the WBA has already begun if you look at the organization’s responses to tweets and posts on social media.

The longer they don’t address this situation, the worse it could get. Furthermore, WBN intends to reach out to the WBA again for comment on this matter.

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.