Welterweight Mykal Fox aired his views to WBN on the return of controversial World Boxing Association judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo to title action.
Rizzo faced a six-month ban following racist tweets being dug up on the back of a shocking card getting handed it for Fox’s clash with Gabriel Maestre last August.
The Florida-based official made her comeback six months and four days after WBA President Gilberto Mendoza had to act due to the severe nature of Rizzo’s actions.
Fox kept an eye out for Rizzo getting reinstated as the American fighter felt boxing hadn’t seen the last of Rizzo around a ring.
Mykal Fox
“I knew she’d re-emerge,” Fox exclusively told World Boxing News on Rizzo, who once referred to ex-First Lady Michelle Obama as ‘Monkey Face’ in her tweets.
“I knew that it was just a waiting period for the dust to settle in the aftermath of my last fight.
“It’s been an exciting year of boxing so far, so I guess they felt her presence would go unnoticed. But I already knew she was judging small cards in Florida.”
Premier Boxing Champions’ Mark Ortega asked Mendoza and the WBA to explain why Rizzo was allowed to return immediately after the suspension with no word on whether she had undergone any racial awareness or judging refresher courses.
Ortega said: “One wonders why Gilberto Mendoza and the WBA are allowing Gloria Martinez Rizzo to judge their world title fights again.
“She famously robbed Mykal Fox against Gabriel Maestre last year and had racist tweets uncovered against African Americans.”
Mendoza did not respond to Ortega and hadn’t addressed the situation, as far as World Boxing News is concerned.
Regarding Fox, he’s awaiting his next move after being robbed of the chance to become the mandatory challenger to the WBA regular title. If he’d claimed that interim title, Fox would have been close to a shot at Eimantas Stanionis in 2023.
Instead, Fox sees his career stalled due to the actions of others.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
