OPBF RESPONDS POSITIVELY TO PROTEST OVER PONTILLAS LOSS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 15 Feb 2012
The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation has responded positively to the protest filed by the handlers of former OPBF super featherweight champion Ronald Pontillas (13-4-3, 6 KO's) who lost his title in controversial fashion to Dong Hyuk Kim (6-1, 1 KO) on January 15, 2012 in Gyeongju, South Korea.
OPBF official Koji Ishizuka said that while the result of the fight ?cannot be changed, Pontillas will be rated No.1 in the next OPBF ratings? and will be the official challenger against the winner of the April 1 mandatory defense of Kim against Thailand?s Jomthong Chuwattana who is ranked No.2, provided Pontillas doesn?t lose prior to his title challenge which, according to OPBF rules must take place before January 31, 2013.
In his formal protest Gerry Garcia pointed out that there was ?no declaration made by the referee on the cut on Kim's left eye. It was caused by a left hook by Pontillas as evidenced in the video in the fourth round.?
Garcia asked for a ruling that ?if a fight has been stopped due to a cut that has been inflicted by a legal blow, should we still refer to the scorecard or automatically declare the boxer who inflicted the cut the winner??
He also noted that ? when the doctor attended to the cut for the first time, he administered a medicine to cause the bleeding to stop, prolonging the bout and avoiding the stoppage of the fight which could have made Pontillas the winner by TKO. ?
Garcia also made mention of the fact that the South Korean stopped the fight because of a loose tape ?at a time when there was no lull in the fight and during which the Korean boxer Kim was being pummeled by Pontillas in an exchange of punches thus giving Kim the time to recover in between the stoppages.?
Pontillas? handler also drew the attention of the OPBF to the fact that ?the computation of the scorecard took a suspiciously long time. We cannot verify the computation since I was being shooed away from watching the official in his computation.?
In conclusion Garcia said ?We are very upset over the officiating and the decision made on the Pontillas-Kim fight. We hope that the OPBF could rectify the said incident and declare the rightful winner of the said match. In case a reversal of the decision could not be reached, we would like to request your good office to require the winner of the Kim-Chuwattana OPBF title bout to fight Pontillas as the mandatory challenger within 90 days in which case our company will promote the fight in the Philippines.?
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