Alliance of Boxing Associations of the Philippines chief Ed Picson has decried how a Filipino boxer was “robbed” of victory in the ongoing Asian Boxing Championships at Amman, Jordan.
“Philippine national boxer Julyfer Bascon was robbed in the Asian Championships…He slipped in the first round, was unfairly given the 8-count, then the fight was stopped by the referee. It’s clear from the tape that he was barely hit and was obviously not hurt,” Picson wrote in a social media post.
“This is a travesty!,” added Picson, who also shared an article of a foreign boxing news site chronicling the story.
Bascon is among 13 Filipino boxers sent by Team Philippines to the tournament, including Tokyo Olympics veterans Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Irish Magno.
In the video shared by local and international boxing personalities, the 25-year-old Bascon was in a tooth-and-nail battle against Uzbekistan’s Adkhamjon Mukhiddinov in the opening round of their lightweight bout.
Bascon lost his balance after he stepped in for an attack to the body with a right straight. His opponent likewise countered with a left hook that hit nothing but air.
Bascon immediately got back on his feet, but to his surprise, Bosnian referee Tina Poletan signalled a knockdown and began to count as the Filipino continued to gesture that he was all right, even looking over to his corner from time to time for further instructions.
The lady referee continued to count and waived the fight off, giving a stoppage win to Mukhiddinov.
The video was shared thousands of times, including Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial.
“What happened? @aiba_official @asbc_official Very disappointing,” Marcial wrote in the caption accompanying the video clip.
“How can a country scout or look for a rising boxing star with this kind of system? Paul Julyfer Bascon from the Philippines lost the fight against Uzbekistan just like that and just like that the effort and hard work of a boxer were just wasted. You should evaluate each judge and referee or give them a seminar because it looks like some haven’t done any.”
Picson said their hands are tied because of the International Boxing Association’s no-protest policy on referees’ stoppage decisions.
“This is, to say the least, unfortunate. At a time when amateur boxing is teetering on the brink of irrelevance in the Olympic program, this kind of inexplicable decision by the referee sends the wrong message. The situation is crying out to be addressed as soon as possible,” said Picson in an interview with the Ring Magazine’s Ryan Songalia.
The International Olympic Committee has barred the IBA from running the affairs of boxing competitions in last year’s Tokyo Olympics and the coming 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
Worse, boxing has not been included in the calendar of events of the 2028 LA Olympics pending the requirement of the IOC to satisfy its queries on leadership issues.