Anyone see the fight? Joe Cortez was the ref.involved in the controversy. Highly suspect officiating it would appear.
[url]http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AprfrXNGerFIf31HOeK9bR aUxLYF?slug=ki-lorenzo070208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns [/url]
LAS VEGAS - Francisco Lorenzo's actions at the end of his fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center with Humberto Soto on Saturday were cowardly, revolting and disgusting.
That means little, though, because he did the one thing he was required to do to claim the interim WBC super featherweight title:
He won.
Specifically, he won by disqualification with an acting job the likes of which haven't been seen since Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets" in 1997, but the point is, he won.
And, because he won, he should have been presented with the green WBC belt as its champion.
The WBC, though, opted to ignore the official verdict, however tainted it may be, and declared the title vacant.
"After watching the instant replay, I believe that there is no one in the world not thinking that a disqualification was one of the greatest mistakes ever in boxing," WBC president Jose Sulaiman said. (snip)
It's hard to imagine Lorenzo standing shoulder to shoulder with men like that. He was beaten like a rag doll and clearly overmatched by Soto, who was on the verge of one of his most impressive knockouts.
Soto never got that knockout, though, as a mistake by referee Joe Cortez started a bizarre sequence that resulted in Lorenzo feigning a head injury so as to win a fight he was about to lose.
Lorenzo had been knocked down once in the fourth round and was on the verge of going out as Soto pursued him into a corner. As Soto moved in for the kill, Cortez jumped between the fighters, apparently to stop the fight.
"It was definitely a mistake and Joe acknowledges that," said Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Cortez almost as quickly backed away, though, resulting in momentary confusion and giving Lorenzo a precious few seconds to regain his senses. When Cortez ordered the boxers to continue, Soto threw a series of punches and Lorenzo voluntarily went to a knee.
As Cortez moved in to begin the count, Soto threw a right uppercut which missed and then a left that landed on the back of Lorenzo's head.
Cortez ruled that Lorenzo was injured from the force of the punch. That is another mistake. Sitting less than 10 feet away, it hardly seemed like more than a swat to the back of the head, not a blow intended to concuss.
HBO's replays appear to support the contention that it was an inconsequential blow.
It was, however, late. And it came with Lorenzo already on the canvas.
Soto refused to concede he'd fouled, pointing to the replay that showed him clearly to be incorrect. (snip)
[url]http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AprfrXNGerFIf31HOeK9bR aUxLYF?slug=ki-lorenzo070208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns [/url]
LAS VEGAS - Francisco Lorenzo's actions at the end of his fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center with Humberto Soto on Saturday were cowardly, revolting and disgusting.
That means little, though, because he did the one thing he was required to do to claim the interim WBC super featherweight title:
He won.
Specifically, he won by disqualification with an acting job the likes of which haven't been seen since Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets" in 1997, but the point is, he won.
And, because he won, he should have been presented with the green WBC belt as its champion.
The WBC, though, opted to ignore the official verdict, however tainted it may be, and declared the title vacant.
"After watching the instant replay, I believe that there is no one in the world not thinking that a disqualification was one of the greatest mistakes ever in boxing," WBC president Jose Sulaiman said. (snip)
It's hard to imagine Lorenzo standing shoulder to shoulder with men like that. He was beaten like a rag doll and clearly overmatched by Soto, who was on the verge of one of his most impressive knockouts.
Soto never got that knockout, though, as a mistake by referee Joe Cortez started a bizarre sequence that resulted in Lorenzo feigning a head injury so as to win a fight he was about to lose.
Lorenzo had been knocked down once in the fourth round and was on the verge of going out as Soto pursued him into a corner. As Soto moved in for the kill, Cortez jumped between the fighters, apparently to stop the fight.
"It was definitely a mistake and Joe acknowledges that," said Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Cortez almost as quickly backed away, though, resulting in momentary confusion and giving Lorenzo a precious few seconds to regain his senses. When Cortez ordered the boxers to continue, Soto threw a series of punches and Lorenzo voluntarily went to a knee.
As Cortez moved in to begin the count, Soto threw a right uppercut which missed and then a left that landed on the back of Lorenzo's head.
Cortez ruled that Lorenzo was injured from the force of the punch. That is another mistake. Sitting less than 10 feet away, it hardly seemed like more than a swat to the back of the head, not a blow intended to concuss.
HBO's replays appear to support the contention that it was an inconsequential blow.
It was, however, late. And it came with Lorenzo already on the canvas.
Soto refused to concede he'd fouled, pointing to the replay that showed him clearly to be incorrect. (snip)
