Referee fails to disqualify boxer after he bit opponent on the arm

Fans were left outraged by the decision

Boxing fans were left angered by a referee refusing to disqualify boxer Nicolas Pablo Demario after he bit Josue Vargas during their fight on Saturday night.

Demario bit his opponent in the fifth round

It had been a close fight in what was Demario's first return to the ring since a knockout defeat to Jose Zepeda in October, however during the fifth round of his bout against Vargas, he lost his cool. Demario was spotted biting the arm of Vargas in a poor show of sportsmanship, but the 28-year-old was only docked one point for his actions. https://twitter.com/trboxing/status/1507883321178537984

How did people react to the decision?

Boxing fans were left shocked that the Argentinian wasn't disqualified - given biting an opponent is forbidden in the sport. In the past, fighters have been fined or suspended as well as pulled from future fights for biting their opponents. Refereeing decisions have come under the spotlight in recent weeks and boxing fans on Twitter expressed their shock that the referee failed to disqualify Demario. One user said: "Feel like this should always be a straight DQ." https://twitter.com/JackSlackMMA/status/1508086260325359625 Another said: "Should be pretty straightforward. Biting your opponent is an auto DQ and suspension." https://twitter.com/GriffinBen32/status/1508067519516622855 A third said: "Don't understand how he didn't get DQ'd for this. That's just dirty." https://twitter.com/ThaDangerousOne/status/1507944841992355845 Another boxing fan said: "Point deduction? Should be disqualified with a ban. Kash Ali got a 6 month ban for the same and a possible fine if a remember correctly." https://twitter.com/waynethehibee/status/1507884391833481218 This isn't the only controversial decision to have hit the boxing world in recent weeks. Most notably, the decision to award Josh Taylor the win against Jack Catterall rocked the boxing world. Catterall was beaten on points by Taylor despite the stats showing the Chorley-born boxer was well ahead in the fight, leading to the Speaker of the House of Commons reporting the incident to the police. Related links:

• Eddie Hearn confirms Josh Warrington broke jaw before stopping Kiko Martinez
• Jack Catterall’s defeat to Josh Taylor referred to police by Speaker of House of Commons
• Josh Taylor’s controversial win over Jack Catterall to be investigated by boxing authorities