Pinoys rue AIBA's double standard

LONDON – What appears to be a double standard applied by the Lausanne-based Association Internationale de Boxe (AIBA) in adjudicating disputes outside the ring was lamented by Philippine sports officials who were stunned by the hasty rejection of a protest involving Filipino fighter Mark Anthony Barriga’s 17-16 loss to Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov in a round-of-16 lightflyweight eliminator at the ExCel South Arena here last Saturday.

ABAP president Ricky Vargas, who flew in from Manila with ABAP secretary-general Patrick Gregorio only hours before the fight, said the rule seems to be differently interpreted for the “haves” and the “have-nots.” In a statement that belied a sense of exasperation, Vargas said, “it seems in the battle of giants, justice is more difficult to attain for a small country like ours.”

Vargas instructed ABAP team official Ed Picson to file a protest within 30 minutes of the end of the bout as required by AIBA pointing out clear irregularities committed by Canadian referee Roland Labbe. A $500 filing fee accompanied the submission. ABAP chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, monitoring developments closely in Manila, gave the go-signal to file the protest if only to project dismay over Labbe’s shoddy treatment.

“We wanted to take a stand, to show our support for Mark who fought his heart out,” said Vargas. “The officiating was so unfair to us. Zhakypov repeatedly pushed Mark down, using his superior size to overpower him. The referee penalized Mark for head-butting after only one caution while Zhakypov was cautioned at least thrice for wrestling Mark without getting a single penalty. Before the end of the fight, the referee penalized both fighters for wrestling but why penalize Mark for that offense when he was the aggrieved party?”

Picson scribbled a letter of protest in his own handwriting to make the 30-minute deadline. He cited Labbe’s unfair officiating as grounds for protest, pointing out that Zhakypov got away with pushing and wrestling while Barriga was penalized quickly for head-butting which is inconsequential in Olympic boxing because fighters wear head protectors.

Gregorio said AIBA overturned a decision in a previous fight involving India and the US on a protest of similar basis. India’s Krishan Vikas outpointed American Errol Spence, 13-11, in a lightweight bout but the US protested the decision. AIBA upheld the protest and awarded the win to Spence. In justifying the reversal, AIBA said “the referee should have given at least two warnings to the Indian boxer…at least four points should have been awarded to the boxer from the USA, therefore the final score should be 15-13 in favor of the US.”

In Barriga’s case, Gregorio said Labbe should have penalized Zhakypov at least once more for repeatedly pushing and wrestling Barriga down. Just one more penalty on Zhakypov would’ve awarded the decision to Barriga, 18-17.

Under AIBA rules, a penalty is slapped on a fighter after a warning where the opponent’s score is given two points. Unlike in professional boxing, there is no deduction on a penalized fighter’s score only an addition to the opponent’s tally. Usually, three cautions constitute a warning or a penalty.

“There was no difference in the grounds of protest in Mark’s case and the India-USA case,” explained Vargas. “Our position was Zhakypov should’ve been penalized for wrestling and pushing. In fact, he was given at least three cautions but without a penalty. Instead, it was Mark who was penalized.” Labbe’s double penalty near the end of the fight was meaningless because like a double technical foul in basketball, it just negated each other.

Brazilian Luiz Boselli, chairman of the competition jury, dismissed the Philippine protest without even referring the matter to the technical delegate or head of the tournament committee. “Giving warnings (or penalties) without a caution is groundless,” said Boselli, AIBA technical and rules committee secretary and member of the powerful 27-man executive committee. “The appeal is too subjective to review. The decision remains as the way it is and the protest is rejected.” Boselli returned $400 of the $500 filing fee to Picson as a consolation.

The fight was close all the way. Zhakypov was ahead, 5-4, at the end of the first round but Barriga went on top, 10-8, after the second. A penalty on Barriga for head-butting gave Zhakypov the win, 17-16. Without the penalty, Barriga would’ve won, 16-15. 

A countback of the points on the five judges’ scorecards showed Zhakypov with a 68-64 lead. Here’s how the five judges scored it – France’s Francis Beuchet 16-12 for Zhakypov, Hungary’s Veronika Szucs 17-15 for Zhakypov, England’s Andrew Caulfield 12-12 draw, Sweden’s Dorian Butar 11-10 for Barriga and Argentina’s Gerardo Poggi 14-13 for Barriga.

“This competition is very poor,” Indian coach Blas Iglesias said after Kumar’s loss. “We’ve seen very many poor decisions. How do you fight against a man who doesn’t want to box? All the rounds were the same” on the scorecards.

Early in the day, veteran Indian coach Gurbankhsh Singh Sandhu said his team had to move past its bitterness over world boxing governing body AIBA’s decision on Vikas’ bout. Light flyweight Devendro Laishram certainly did, posting a sensational 16-11 upset of fourth-seeded Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia, the silver medalist in Beijing.

Yet Laishram and middleweight Vijender Singh, the superstar who won the nation’s first boxing medal in Beijing, are the only Indian boxers left in London.

“We are disappointed, but a rule is a rule,” Sandhu said. “I can’t fight rules. I’m here to train the boxers, and they are here to perform.”

Stalker made no apologies for his victory, saying he overcame a slight cold and a week of uneasy waiting for his first fight.

The Philippines appealed light flyweight Mark Barriga’s 17-16 loss to Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov in Saturday’s second fight, but amateur boxing’s governing body declined to consider it because Filipino officials didn’t provide any grounds for their request.

At least two attempts at appeals have failed during the Olympics in a sport that frequently features close bouts between evenly matched opponents decided by its highly subjective scoring system.

Almost everybody who loses a close bout feels cheated, yet only some greet it with the class and sportsmanship shown by Sweden’s Anthony Yigit after a sensational 24-23 loss to second-seeded Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk.

“I can’t complain about the score,” Yigit said after trading three electric rounds with Berinchyk, a silver medalist at last year’s world championships. “It was a close fight. I think I landed a few more clean punches, but I can’t complain. I have a big heart.” (AP)