Justice is served for Filipino boxer Jayson Vayson after the World Boxing Council invalidated his controversial decision loss to Indonesian Tibo Monabesa on Feb. 27 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“The WBC has decided to declare the fight (Monabesa vs Vayson) a No Contest and not recognize the victory of Monabesa. The WBC is hereby ordering a direct rematch for the WBC International Light Flyweight Championship,” said WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman in a letter addressed to Indonesian Boxing Association president Manahan Situmorang.
Sulaiman was referring to the title fight, where Vayson, despite knocking down Monabesa and showing full control of the action throughout the 10-round contest, still lost via split decision on Feb. 27 at the Holywings Night Club in the Indonesian capital.
Boxing observers call it a “hometown decision” whenever a visiting boxer loses in a highly controversial manner to a local fighter.
Sulaiman said the WBC ring officials’ committee has reviewed the bout after “a grievance was presented to the WBC.”
“The 10 judges who evaluated the fights during this process scored the fight in favor of the Philippine challenger by a wide margin. The WBC was informed that the panel of officials working the fight live were all locals and not a neutral one,” added Sulaiman.
Interestingly, the local promoter of the bout, Holywings Sports Show, was the one that officially opposed the decision by making an open letter and asking the WBC to make a review.
“We feel that the real victory should be won by the fighter from the Philippines, Jayson Vayson. Through this open letter, we hope that the WBC will be able to review the results of the match,” said the Holywings’ letter.
The response of the WBC came after two weeks although Sulaiman clarified that the “honorable commission has the option to accept our ruling and change your records…or not accept our decision and keep such fight a victory for Monabesa.”
But to the WBC, the title is deemed vacant and the two have to do a rematch if either one of them wants to get the crown.
Sulaiman also offered an online seminar for the Indonesian judges and referees via Zoom under the WBC University platform, to help them improve their judging capabilities