… judges’ decision was cooked
WINDHOEK – Namibian world title hopeful Wilberforce ‘Black Mamba’ Shipeho suffered a controversial unanimous defeat at the hands of Arthur Abraham in a bout for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight intercontinental title at the Sports Congress Centre in Schwerin, Germany on Saturday night.
Shihepo’s handler Nestor Tobias was not entirely convinced and blasted the judges’ decision, saying his boxer had done enough to claim victory and strongly believes the result was “cooked” to give Abraham an undeserved victory.
“We were extremely shocked by the judges’ decision because we are really wondering which fight they were watching. Shihepo won the fight hands down and was doubtlessly a better fighter throughout the contest, throwing and landing the most punches while he was also the most aggressive and clinical boxer on the night.
“Shihepo skilfully sent his opponent to the canvas in the 5th round and how the judges gave the fight in favour of Abraham goes beyond any comprehension,” fumed the Namibian world acclaimed boxing promoter, who confirmed that his stable filed a formal complaint with the WBO immediately after the fight.
“We want a full-scale review of this dubious decision because this is not only a great injustice to Shihepo alone but the sport of boxing in general.”
Analysts from Boxing News described Abraham’s performance on the night as below par, while he apparently looked disinterested in the fight at times with the Namibian taking the fight to his out-of-sorts opponent. Their headline read: “Arthur struggles with Shihepo over 12 rounds.”
According to eastside boxing.com, “Shihepo basically outworked Abraham in every round of the fight and even though he got the highly questionable win decision he is not going anywhere with that performance because he can consider this decision as a gift.”
Some boxing fans who also commented on these websites asked what the judges were smoking because they got it totally wrong. The crowd in attendance “booooooooood” the decision as the wrong man was given the fight, one blogger said.
Abraham desperately needed the win to become mandatory challenger to the world title against current WBO world champion and bitter rival Robert Steiglitz. “We will request the WBO to hold onto this decision because we all know that Shihepo deserves this opportunity far better than Abraham,” concluded a furious Tobias.
By Carlos Kambaekwa