REFEREE RUINS GORRES-DARCHINYAN BOUT

By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 03 Feb 2008



Cebu City -- New Zealand referee Lance Revill ruined what could have been a good night of boxing as last night's explosive Gorres-Darchinyan bout at Waterfront Hotel & Casino here totally went out of control.

Revill gave a mandatory 10-count for a knockdown on a slip by Gorres in the first round that triggered a bottle-throwing spree and ticked off a series of serious lapses by the totally intimidated referee. Revill, who came in as a replacement of Australian referee John Wright, appeared to be in shock when plastic bottles rained from the audience during the remainder of the first and through the second round and was never on his element.

Darchinyan, the power-punching Armenian-born Australian who was clearly the more stronger fighter, never got warned for pushing and shoving Gorres throughout the fight which resulted in Gorres being thrown to the canvas many times over. What appeared to be a legitimate knockdown by Darchinyan over Gorres in the 11th round was ruled a slip by the inept referee.

An accidental headbutt by Darchinyan that cut Gorres' head in the sixth round which could have resulted to a point deduction for Darchinyan and which had caused blood to continuously bleed from Gorres' head throughout the remainder of the contest never got the attention of the referee nor was it referred to the ringside physician.

All in all, because of the referee's lousy and rotten performance, the main attraction of the beautifully organized event came down as an ugly, controversial and forgettable fight.

Darchinyan's promoter Gary Shaw has called for the permanent banning of the referee from boxing after the fight as some boxing pundits called the referee's performance the worst they've ever witnessed.

The three judges' scorecards resulted in a split draw which probably could have just been right for the situation.

Both camps were open to do a rematch with Darchinyan's manager Elias Nasser saying that he is going to lodge a protest to the IBF first thing on Monday but he also said he was open to a rematch to be held in a neutral country. ALA President Mike Aldeguer, on the other hand, said Team Gorres is also open to a rematch but they are also looking at other options for Gorres.

Photos:


Referee Lance Revill (R) wipes Gorres' gloves after a knockdown misjudge in the first round.


Darchinyan down in the 2nd round.


Gorres down in the 9th round.


Darchinyan (R) raises Gorres' hands after the split draw verdict was announced.
 

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