Taylor-Catterall: WBO Previously Objected BBBoC Appointment Of Judges Lewis And Loughlin
BY JAKE DONOVAN / BOXINGSCENE.COM
Amidst the ongoing investigation surrounding the widely criticized outcome in the Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall junior welterweight championship fight is the question of why two of the judges were there at all.
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) announced its plans to look into the scoring following Scotland’s Taylor claiming a highly questionable split decision win over England’s Catterall to defend his undisputed 140-pound championship on February 26 in Glasgow. Judge Howard Foster (113-112) ruled in favor of Catterall, while judges Victor Loughlin (113-112) and Ian John-Lewis (114-111) awarded the fight to Scotland’s Taylor (19-0, 13KOs), who retained his championship along with making the fourth defense of at least one title February 26 in Glasgow.
“We’re dealing with that next week,” Robert Smith, general secretary of the BBBoC recently told Sky Sports. “We’ve been very clear of that with everybody. We’re taking all the reports in.
“We got Ian John-Lewis coming into our hearing. Once we’ve done that, we will put out something on what’s happened. There’s nothing changed on that, I’ve been very clear from the beginning.”
BoxingScene.com has learned that the WBO—who ordered the mandatory title fight—objected to the appointment of Loughlin and John-Lewis, neither of whom are WBO-certified. Representatives from the WBO did not return a message from BoxingScene.com seeking comment, though it has been learned that the objection was not only addressed with the BBBoC on January 26—one day after all were informed of the board’s officials selection—but done so in the presence of all the sanctioning bodies involved in the fight.
Taylor presently holds the WBA/WBA/IBF/WBO titles, having obtained undisputed championship status following his twelve-round, unanimous decision win over Jose Ramirez last May 22 in Las Vegas.
There were not any concerns raised with Foster and referee Marcus McDonnell, both of whom have regularly attended the required WBO seminars and certification courses. McDonnell, however, was widely criticized for his inability to maintain order in the ring along with his separate point deductions for Catterall in round ten and Taylor after the bell to end the eleventh round.