ONLY ONE HOMETOWN JUDGE IN RUBILLAR REMATCH WITH IBO CHAMPION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 16 Jun 2010
If its any consolation for veteran Filipino world title challenger Juanito Rubillar (48-14-7, 23 KO?s) only one South African judge has been named for his title rematch against hometown boy Hekkie Budler (15-0, 5 KO's) at Kempton Park in Gauteng compared to the three South Africanswho judged their first fight which even the local media branded as a robbery.
IBO president Ed Levine in pushing for a rematch took the added precaution of naming only Terence Makaluza as the local judge although the referee is also a South African Andile Matika from East London.:
The US based IBO president informed us that the two other judges would be Michael Fitzgerald from the United States and Britain?s Reginald Thompson.
In their February 27 battle for the vacant title it was clear that the 22 year old Budler boxed well in the first three rounds but Rubillar took control from the fourth round onwards and caught Budler with some solid body shots.
The veteran Rubilar who is handled by Gabriel ?Bebot? Elorde stepped up the pressure in the championship rounds while Budler barely managed to survive. Yet to the horror of Rubillar and even the South African media two of the hometown judges shamelessly scored the fight for Budler prompting Levine to act.
The rematch will also be staged by Golden Gloves Promotion while the IBO?s representative in South Africa Len Hunt will once again serve as fight supervisor.
Budler says he will prove his doubters wrong in the rematch and said he is determined to win and retain his title. But Rubillar and Elorde are confident that this time around the decision will not be left in the hands of the judges as Rubillar intends to win by knockout.
The 33 year old Rubillar who always trains hard realizes this is probably his last shot at a world title and wants to go out as a champion.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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