"Unfair Judging": JMS Slams Bacolod Decision Loss to Abne in Cebu
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 11 Aug 2022
Christian Bacolod.
"It leaves a more bitter taste in the mouth for Christian Bacolod to lose in this manner in his own country against a fellow Filipino".
Joel Paciones, lead partner promoter of the JMS Anchor Promotions, made this statement as he expressed huge disappointment over what he termed as unfair judging that denied Bacolod of a clear, deserved victory in his main event fight versus April Jay Abne in Sibonga, Cebu last Sunday.
All three judges scored the 10 round bout in favor of the home fighter Abne despite the fact that Bacolod had dictated the tenor and tempo of the fight from the opening bell. The decision was lushly booed by the hundreds of spectators who many believed Bacolod should have won by merits of his constant aggression and volume punching. Abne was virtually out of his feet by the tenth and final round and was merely resorting to wrestling and excessive holding that did not escape the eyes of the crowd which filled the local gymnasium.
"Abne was on defense and survival mode from the opening bell and whatever so called better counterpunching he did was just reaction to what Bacolod had been doing to force him to fight, Atty Steve Santillan, another of the JMS partner promoter, said for his part. "There was only a fight, an epic in fact at this level, because of Bacolod. What fight was those judges watching?"
Bacolod pressed the action to Abne but he was not just a brawler but a skillful and calculated attacker who repeated trapped and caught Abne with combinations to the head and body.
Abne was able to counter with nice looking straights and occasional body shots but they did not seem to hurt Bacolod nor affected his busy work rate. Abne was so gassed in the final round from constant evasive movements that he fell down by himself several times.
Bacolod's corner likewise scored the failure of the referee to at least warn Abne for his constant holding and penalize him for grappling Bacolod to the canvas in the final round which was clearly dominated by the guest fighter.
JMS is considering an immediate rematch between Bacolod and Abne in a neutral ground but the partner promoters, including the US- based Morris East are seriously thinking of lodging an official protest of the results with the Games and Amusement Board so that such ring injustice will no longer happen anywhere in the country.
It was Bacolod's only second defeat in 20 pro bouts but Paciones said the undeserved loss may affect Bacolod's morale and hurt his worth as a world rated fighter especially in the eyes of those who did not see the fight or rely merely on paper records.
Bacolod suffered his first loss in Japan against an undefeated Thai in 2019 and is on a hot comeback campaign since then.
The fight which was aired by ARQ Promotion thru FB live courtesy of Pow Salud of Powcast Sport, also drew strong reactions from boxing netizens most of whom believed Bacolod should have gotten the verdict.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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