How bad was the refereeing in the IBF bantamweight title fight between Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko, in which Mares was awarded a controversial majority decision? Bad enough that the IBF has actually done the right thing and ordered an immediate rematch no later than Dec. 14.
Referee Russell Mora - in a stunningly dreadful performance - ruined what was otherwise an entertaining bout between two of the top bantamweights in the world by failing to deduct any points from Mares for repeated low bows. Mora's most egregious error came in round eleven, when an obvious low blow from Mares dropped Agbeko to his knees. Instead of deducting a point from Mares, Mora called it a knockdown -- changing what could have been a 10-8 round for Agbeko into a 10-8 round for Mares. If not for that four-point swing (and all the other illegal blows that were not penalized), Agbeko may have retained his title as the official scorecards read 115-111, 115-111 and 113-113.
No one is suggesting that being a boxing referee is an easy job. It's not. Even the best referees can make a mistake or even miss a foul entirely. However, this was not a case of a good referee having a bad night. This was either gross incompetence or outright corruption -- take your pick. Either way, Russell Mora should be stripped of his license to work as a professional boxing referee.
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