The judges weren’t the only source for controversy this summer. Referee Russell Mora made headlines last week for the all the wrong reasons. After various no-calls for low blows in the Abner Mares-Joseph Agbeko fight bantamweight title fight, Mora was blasted by media and fans alike. The referee was so bad that the IBF, the sanctioning body for the fight, ordered an immediate rematch for the fight and ruled that Mora’s actions compromised the contest.
For all the scandals that happened in the ring, fighters such as Kelly Pavlik and David Haye made comments outside the ring that didn’t help this dreadful summer go by any easier. Haye has always been known for his loud mouth but he gave an awfully pathetic excuse after his performance against heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko. Citing (and subsequently providing photos of) a toe injury, Haye did whatever he could to try and repair his repetition after a pathetic performance. Even though his excuse had a modicum of validity, Haye still was quick to draw the excuse card in the wake of a performance no one expected.
Then there was former middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.
Kelly Pavlik went on a different type of bender this summer. When he pulled out of his fight against Darryl Cunningham and cancelled his fall fight against super middleweight champion Lucian Bute, Pavlik went on a verbal bender, practically committing career suicide in the process. He alienated himself from not only television networks but his fans as well. Pavlik claimed that fighting for 1.3 million was fighting for “peanuts” but it would be better than fighting for nothing. Needless to say, “business decisions” like these are really puzzling.
Now Robert Guerrero has injured his shoulder, pulling out of his anticipated junior welterweight fight against Marcos Maidana. Before its cancellation, Guerrero-Maidana could have been the highlight of the summer. Injuries in the sport of boxing are nothing new but the timing of this one hurts.
Here’s hoping fall will be better.
