Letter to the Games & Amusement Board
170706 Letter to the Games & Amusement Board
July 6, 2017
Games and Amusements Board
Mr. Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra – Chairman
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Messrs. Eduard B. Trinidad & Mr. Matthew P. Gaston
Commissioners
2/F Legaspi Tower 200,
Paseo de Roxas St.
Legaspi Village Makati City 1226, Philippines
Re: 7/2/17 Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn Bout – Australia
Gentlemen:
I refer to your letter dated July 3rd 2017 requesting, “…a thorough review by the WBO for possible miscalls of the referee where some deductions were not made and of the judges in their judging that have caused varying opinions on their objectivity.
We are making this request for a review, which may call for sanctions on the referee and judges if so warranted, in furtherance of our mutual goal of protecting the integrity of the sport and even more improving the boxing industry that we all love.”
We must make it clear that an Official’s discretion, whether Judge or Referee, is irrevocable. The decision of an Official should only be revoked when fraud or violations of the Law occur. I assure you that the Officials who participated in this fight are all professional, distinguished, honest and honorable human beings. Can you imagine the Nevada State Athletic Commission investigating Referee Tony Weeks because he did not deduct points during the Kovalev fight!
The World Boxing Organization does not have jurisdiction in the first instance to revoke any decision, as that would correspond to the Australian National Boxing Federation.
I would be very grateful if the Philippines Games and Amusements Board (GAB) can provide any evidence indicating fraud or violation of Law. Please forward it immediately to the Australian National Boxing Federation and to the WBO so that we may proceed accordingly.
Although this is the situation, as I previously publicly stated, we will appoint five (5) anonymous competent Judges from different countries to watch the bout without sound distraction. Then, we will tabulate the results to ascertain clearly which rounds each fighter won using an average scale based on 60, 80 and 100 per cent. This means that 3 of the 5 officials have to agree to determine which fighter won the round.
The purpose of this review is to be able to give the fans certainty of who was the winner of the bout, even though we do not have the power to reverse the decision of the Judges based on discretion and, in this case, we do have a rematch clause on the fight contract.
I take this opportunity to wish you success in all your endeavors and tell you that I was most pleased to have had the opportunity of personally greeting you in Australia last week.