The judge is set to be investigated by the British Boxing Board of Control
Eddie Hearn has led calls for a boxing judge to be sacked after images circulated of him allegedly playing on his phone during a fight.
Terry O’Connor was employed as a judge for Saturday night’s Matchroom Boxing bout in Peterborough between Lewis Ritson and Miguel Vasquez.
Ritson, who had won 20 of his 21 fights prior to last night, was a strong favourite to defeat the veteran Vasquez.
Howver, this isn’t quite how the fight panned out. Vasquez’ experience showed, and he dominated Ritson for a large portion of the bout.
Vasquez largely nullified Ritson’s superior power with clever movement and a series of well-timed jabs. The Mexican looked the favourite to pick up the win.
The judges saw it differently, however – much to the amazement of pundits, top trainers and those watching at home.
I am in shock.
I can’t believe this.
Absolute joke. #RitsonVasquez— Dave Coldwell (@davidcoldwell) October 17, 2020
I’m a fan of ritson… but.the judges scored that wrong!
— Conor Nigel Benn (@ConorNigel) October 17, 2020
Sam Jones, manager of top British heavyweight Joe Joyce tweeted: “I promise that’s the worst decision I’ve ever seen in boxing.”
Top trainer Dave Coldwell voiced similar thoughts on social media.
He said: “Spoilt a great show for me there. Upsets, great fights all the way through and then you get an absolutely scandalous decision that takes the headlines and conversations away from all the good adverts for our sport from the rest of the bill.”
But it was the behaviour of judge Terry O’Connor that garnered the most outrage. While Vasquez and Ritson were going toe-to-toe in the ring, images showed O’Connor using what looked like a phone ringside.
This image is extremely troubling to any person involved in boxing. pic.twitter.com/mLtNzBnXnF
— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) October 17, 2020
O’Connor scored the fight 117-111 in Ritson’s favour, which proved hugely controversial.
On Twitter, Eddie Hearn wrote: “If that’s a phone (and I presume it is) then then BBBofC should immediately remove him.”
If that’s a phone (and I presume it is) then then BBBofC should immediately remove him. https://t.co/yVGKMRvNG9
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) October 17, 2020
Hearn, Ritson’s promoter for the fight, was less than impressed when speaking to iFLTV after the fight.
He said: “117-111 to Ritson was a disgrace of a card. And it’s terrible for the sport.
“People have got to be accountable for bad decisions. If you’re in a job and you don’t perform well, then you’ve gotta face the consequences.”
The judge is set to be investigated by boxing’s authorities, according to Talksport’s Michael Benson.
The BBBofC’s Robert Smith has declared that they’ll be launching an investigation into the performance of judge Terry O’Connor during Ritson vs Vazquez. He said he’s “disappointed” by the image which some are alleging shows O’Connor looking at his phone. [@BoxingNewsED]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) October 18, 2020
