A referee who was once punched by Anthony Joshua appeared in a bizarre Misfits Boxing tag-team match.
Saturday night’s Misfits event saw the first ever bout of its kind take place, with fans being left in awe at the spectacle. But that wasn’t all, as eagle-eyed viewers quickly noticed former British boxing referee Ian John-Lewis officiating the bout.
John-Lewis in 2018 was named the world’s best boxing referee by his peers. But he had a remarkable fall from grace due to his controversial scorecard for Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall in February 2022.
READ MORE: Fans say 'boxing has peaked' as tag-team fighting becomes real – and crowd goes wild
He scored 111-114 in favour of Taylor, who went on to win in what was deemed the biggest robbery of the year at the time. As such, John-Lewis was downgraded as a judge by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).
The Board's statement after investigation read: “Following an internal review of the scoring of the Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall contest by all three appointed judges, the Stewards of the Board decided to call Mr Ian John-Lewis to appear before them to explain his returned card.
“Having considered Mr Ian John-Lewis’s explanation, the Stewards of the Board decided to downgrade Mr John-Lewis from an A Star Class to an A Class Official.
Are you a fan of tag-team boxing? Let us know in the comments section.
“Whilst the Board were satisfied that Mr. John-Lewis’s scorecard did not affect the overall result of the contest, the Stewards of the Board did have issue with his margin.”
John-Lewis went on to join the less recognised British & Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) following his resignation from the BBBofC, setting him up for the Misfits appearance. But he was at the centre of it all long before his dubious scoring.
The Gillingham ref was famously involved in Anthony Joshua’s professional debut – where he was caught “bang on the button” by the future unified heavyweight champion while trying to separate the British boxer and his opponent.
AJ dismantled Italian Emanuele Leo in two minutes and 47 seconds back in 2013, but not before almost sending John-Lewis into orbit.
The official said at the time: “It all happened in a split second and I was thinking, ‘he’s just hit me! I had never been punched before as a referee in all my years and I was proud of that.
“Anthony said ‘sorry ref’ and afterwards he explained that he thought the Italian was going to hit him, so he instinctively tried to get in there first.No disrespect to other referees but some would have gone down.
“I am a big strong guy and I can take a dig but that was no little cuff, it was bang on the button, flat in my face.”
READ NEXT:
- Fans call out Elle Brooke for 'biased' commentary of OnlyFans rival Astrid Wett's fight
- OnlyFans boxer Astrid Wett agrees to embarrassing name change if AJ Bunker beats her
- Jake Paul breaks silence on millionaire ball boy's vodka after £200k tattoo vanished
Source: Read Full Article