Police are now involved in the Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall undisputed judging robbery after Sir Lindsay Hoyle, MP for Chorley, sent a letter urging an investigation.
In the immediate aftermath, Sir Lindsay had already brought the matter up in the House of Commons. Hoyle has now gone a step further.
UNDISPUTED
The Member of Parliament believes something murky happened behind the scenes as Catterall lost out on his undisputed crowning glory.
Taylor carded a wafer-thin split decision when Catterall dominated the vast majority of the contest. ‘El Gato’ outlanded Taylor in eleven of twelve rounds, doubled the output of punches, and dropped the Scot to the floor for good measure.
It seemed as though Catterall was never going to walk away from Glasgow with those belts, though.
Hoyle wants something done.
“Everyone is disgusted by what’s happened – it brings the sport into disrepute,” Hoyle told Sportsmail.
“I have to question why the judges got it so wrong? I’ve already sent a letter to the police.
“I have spoken to Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. Also, the Minister for Sport, Nigel Huddleston.
“They are both looking into this.
“I also believe that something seriously went on here. Whether it was undue influence, one must question why?”
Sky Sports
REFEREE
Timothy Bradley, a former world champion turned ESPN analyst, blasted the referee’s performance too.
“There’s a thin line with a referee being active and keeping a fight out of hand and then overstepping his role.
“When two guys are fighting for their livelihoods, and the stakes are as high as they are in a championship fight, nobody wants a referee taking points unless he has no choice.
“If something’s completely deliberate, completely dirty, sometimes you don’t have a choice.
But both fighters were roughhousing one another, taking it up to that line while fighting for the undisputed championship of the world.
“And in both instances where McDonnell took a point — one for each fighter — nothing was even close to going over that line,” he told ESPN.
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Founding editor of World Boxing News since 2010, WBN has over one billion views on all platforms.
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