CONTROVERSIES CONTINUE TO HOUND PINOY BOXERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 14 Nov 2012
Edrin Dapudong was the latest casualty of the infamous South African hometown decision when he was obviously robbed of the IBO super flyweight title, losing bizarrely a twelve round split decision to local hero Gideon Buthelezi. The South African reportedly got a rough mauling from the Filipino and ended up with a bleeding nose and bruised left eye.
But the judges scored it as follows: Tony Nyangiwe of South Africa 115-112 and Michael Pernick of the United States 115-113 for the South African while Britain?s Reg Thompson of Britain 114-113 for Dapudong, with Buthelezi winning a controversial split decision at the Emperor?s Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa.
It caused an outburst from spectators even from South Africans themselves. Dapudong has the edge as he was reportedly the busier and sharper and knocked Buthelezi in the ninth round.
Biased decisions are common in South Africa if the fight is held in their own turf. Several Filipino boxers lost in this country, especially if they could not stop their opponents.
On September 21, 2007, the late Alex Aroy lost to WBC international minimumweight champion Zukisani Kwayiba when the lights went off at Carousel Hotel in South Africa caused by an abrupt and doubtful power failure at a time when Aroy appeared to be dominating over the champion. The fight was interrupted by the blackout at the start of the seventh round just in time when Aroy began to hammer the hometown hero.
The officials decided to go to the scorecards per WBC rules to determine the outcome of the fight. It was quite astonishing that a prestigious hotel and casino such as Carousel in South Africa has no standby power while hosting such a reputed WBC international title fight. Immediately after the decision was announced favoring the South African, the lights were back. The result was greeted by boos from the crowd even with South Africans.
On February 27, 2010, Juanito Rubillar lost to South African boxer Hekkie Budler by a notorious majority decision at the Emperors Casino in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. The bout was for the vacant IBO light flyweight title. Rubillar hammered Budler and it was clear that the Filipino controlled the fight with more dominating rounds. Two out of three judges gave the fight 117-113 and 115-113 for Budler, while the third judge scored the bout even at 114-114 for an unconvincing decision.
During the rematch still held in South Africa, Budler won a twelve round split decision over Rubillar (48-15, 23KOs) to retain his IBO junior flyweight title. The scores were 115-113 and 116-111 for Budler and 114-113 for Rubillar.
Randy Suico lost in a contentious split decision to Mzonke Fana after flooring the South African twice in 2004 for the WBC junior-lightweight title eliminator. Bruce McTavish of New Zealand scored the fight 113-114 for Suico, while South African Thabo Spampool and Italian Franco Ciminale scored it 115-111 and 114-111 to Fana, respectively. Suico received a standing ovation from Fana?s admiring fans as he walked out of the Orlando Community Hall in Soweto, South Africa.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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