BOXING legend Bob Arum took to the microphone for a surprising ringside speech as he criticized the judges’ decisions to hand Josh Taylor the second defeat of his career.
And he vowed to “never, ever” allow an American boxer to fight again on British soil in protest.
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Taylor took to the ring for his long-awaited rematch with Jack Catterall, more than two years after his controversial split decision win in Glasgow that denied El Gato his reign as undisputed world champion.
And Catterall secured victory this time with a comprehensive victory.
The judges, this time, got it right.
Kieran McCann and Mark Bates scored 117-111, while Lee Every scored 116-113 – all in favor of the 30-year-old from Chorley.
But iconic promoter Arum – who has looked after the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury – was furious with the result.
He entered the ropes and took the microphone live on DAZN to deliver a memorable monologue – hijacking Catterall’s post-fight interview.
Hall of Famer Top Rank, 92, groaned: “I saw the fight like everyone else.
“Those scorecards were a disgrace, they were an absolute disgrace.
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“And I really feel sorry for Josh, I thought he won the fight.
“But those scorecards were ridiculous.
“And as a lesson, I will never allow an American fighter to come here with the British board [British Boxing Board of Control] marking the fight.
“Those scores were ridiculous.”
This sparked a series of boos around the First Direct Arena as the crowd supported the victorious Englishman.
And many boxing fans on social media responded to Arum.
One said: “Someone take his mic ”
Another wrote: “Someone come get the old man, he’s been in shit since 10am.”
A third added: “He’s a melon, someone put him to bed.”
And a fourth commented: “Looool Bob is hilarious but where was that energy in the first fight in Scotland when they stole Catterall, excellent rematch, correct winner but the scorecards were a little wide.”
Many others used the hilarious Simpsons ‘old man yells at cloud’ meme.
And some even joked that Arum was having his “AJ moment” – referring to Anthony Joshua’s bizarre speech after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.
Unsurprisingly, Catterall’s promoter and Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn was much happier with the result.
He posted a photo of himself smiling in the background during Arum’s speech.
Hearn captioned the image: “Call the police, he’s out of control!
“To be fair, I agree with Bob, the scores were very wide, but without a doubt the right man won! What a fight, what a night!”
Hearn then uploaded another photo, posing alongside his welterweight winner.
He added: “I love this game Get up @jack_catt93 get up Chorley!”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
