Ian John-Lewis, the veteran British referee and choose who was closely criticized for his scorecard for the junior welterweight undisputed title bout between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall and subsequently demoted, has filed a criticism towards the British Board of Boxing Management, in accordance with a report by The Mail.
John-Lewis, 60, was one in all three judges concerned in final 12 months’s notorious Taylor-Catterall title bout, which the champion, Taylor, controversially gained by break up resolution. It’s extensively thought to be one of many greatest robberies in current reminiscence.
In line with the Mail, John-Lewis, a former boxer, is now accusing the BBBofC of treating him like a “scapegoat.”
The Mail additionally reported that veteran referee Jeff Hinds, 61, is pursuing a declare with the BBBofC as effectively, albeit a separate one involving defamation.
The boxing world erupted in outrage over the scorecards submitted for Taylor-Catterall, notably in response to the 2 referees who had Taylor profitable: John-Lewis and Victor Loughlin. However many of the ire went to John-Lewis due to the margin of his scorecard. Loughlin’s scorecard learn 113-112, whereas John-Lewis had it 114-111. The third choose, Howard Foster, favored Catterall by 113-112.
Throughout a listening to with the BBBofC final spring, John-Lewis was demoted from the A Star class group of referees—a distinction he earned in 2000 as the primary Black Briton to take action—to A category
In line with the Mail, John-Lewis has taken difficulty with the truth that he was the one choose to undergo repercussions by each the general public and the Board.
This was not John-Lewis’ first time attracting criticism as a choose. Beforehand he got here beneath fireplace for scoring Rey Vargas’ win over Gavin McDonnell of their 2017 tremendous bantamweight title bout a draw. John-Lewis was additionally criticized for scoring the primary eight rounds for Kevin Mitchell in his 2015 light-weight struggle towards Jorge Linares. It was immaterial, as Linares wound up stopping Mitchell within the tenth spherical. Extra lately, John-Lewis was lambasted for delivering a 117-111 scorecard in favor of sunshine heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde towards Lyndon Arthur; the 2 different judges, nevertheless, had Arthur profitable 115-114.
Taylor and Catterall will face one another in a rematch, reportedly on March 4 in Glasgow, Scotland, Taylor’s yard. Solely the WBO title might be at stake, as Taylor vacated his different belts as a way to give attention to this struggle.