Judge In Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall Scoring Controversy Demoted By BBBoC
One of the judges in the highly criticized Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall title fight has been downgraded.
Ian John-Lewis was demoted from an elite A Star class group of referees to A class. The decision came after the British Boxing Board of Control called him before them to explain his decision amidst their ongoing investigation.
The BBBoC said in a statement:
“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.
“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.
“As the regulatory body for the Sport in Great Britain the British Boxing Board of Control continue to improve and maintain the high quality and consistency in scoring by our licensed officials. As such, the Stewards of the Board have further decided that in addition to each A Star Class Official being evaluated after each bout, as per current procedure, they will now also be subject to a separate individual annual review.”
John-Lewis scored Taylor the winner – allowing him to retain all four belts – with a scorecard of 114-111. Judge Victor Loughlin also penned Taylor the winner with 113-112.
John-Lewis and Loughlin’s decision caused an outcry amongst the boxing community, where many thought Catterall had done more than enough to upset to dethrone the champion. He even raised his hands in celebration because he was confident he was going to be crowned the new winner.
In addition to the demotion, the Board has also lobbied the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO to keep Catterall as mandatory challenger for all four titles.
On Wednesday, however, prior to the Board’s announcement, the WBA ordered the reigning undisputed junior welterweight champion to face undefeated No. 1-ranked contender Alberto Puello.