"Harry Gibbs (referee) Harry Gibbs OBE (1920–1999) was an English boxing referee and judge. In a career spanning four decades, Gibbs took charge of numerous world title fights, and officiated in bouts involving Muhammad Ali, Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, Mike Tyson, Barry McGuigan and Joe Frazier. He was the referee and sole judge of the fight between Henry Cooper and Joe Bugner in 1971, awarding the fight to Bugner by a quarter of a point, which remains one of the most controversial decisions in British boxing history. His name was put forward to be"
"that Cooper deserved the decision due to his steady aggression. But Bugner fought effectively on the defense and scored often with his left jab, and in the opinion of many, was the rightful winner of the bout. ""The Times"", among others, scored the fight in favour of Bugner. Still, the outcome of the bout is regarded as one of the most controversial in British boxing history. Nonetheless, Bugner was now the British, British Commonwealth, and European champion, and for the first time he was ranked among the world's top ten heavyweights. Bugner would remain in the world ratings until his"
"as the biggest all-British heavyweight bout since Cooper Vs Bugner in 1971. The bout took place in late 1987, and Bugner suffered an eighth-round TKO loss to the much younger and fresher world title contender for the Commonwealth championship in front of a huge crowd at White Hart Lane football stadium. Bugner promptly retired again following this defeat, only his 3rd stoppage defeat in 20 years. Inspired by the 45-year-old George Foreman's recapture of the heavyweight title, Bugner made a final comeback in 1995, beating Vince Cervi to win the Australian heavyweight title, followed by a win over West Turner."
"abolished quarter of a point margin. An audience mainly composed of Cooper fans did not appreciate the innately cautious Bugner, and the decision was booed with commentator Harry Carpenter asking, ""And how, in the world, can you take away the man's three titles, like that?"" Cooper announced his retirement shortly afterwards. Cooper refused to speak to Gibbs for several years, but eventually agreed to shake his hand for charity six months before Gibbs died. In Cooper's later years, he retired from commentary on the sport as he became ""disillusioned with boxing"", wanting ""straight, hard and fast boxing that he was"
"held in Kuala Lumpur, with Ali winning a relatively one-sided fifteen-round decision. Bugner performed fairly well, but maintained a strictly defensive posture throughout most of this fight, perhaps due to the blistering tropical heat, and as a result he was widely scorned by the media and public. In an interview during an April 2008 reunion with Henry Cooper, Bugner defended his tactics in the Ali fight as having been necessary due to the extreme temperature and humidity of the outside venue. Early in 1976, Bugner announced his retirement from boxing, stating that he no longer felt motivated to fight professionally."
"signed by both parties and would take place at Manchester Arena. With five days out from the fight, The British Boxing Board of Control had appointed British referee Terry O'Connor, the same official in charge of Fury's last two bouts. It saw Peter Fury exchanging a foul-mouthed argument with David Higgins at the final press conference in London. It started off with Higgins approaching Fury, unhappy with the appointment of British referee O'Connor for the fight. Higgins was then ejected from the press conference by security officials. Overall Higgins outburst caused a referee change after it began to create noise"
"three, four. The mandatory count does not apply in championship bouts (1955)...My seconds were screaming for me to finish him and I moved to do so, but Kessler...carefully wiped off Rocky's gloves, giving him another few seconds...he gave him a sort of stiff jerk, which may have helped Rocky clear his head."" Moore admits to being angry enough at what he saw as interference, he went recklessly, ""blind and stupid with rage"", going for the knockout, toe-to-toe. This resentment toward referee Kessler appears only to have grown more entrenched. By the time of a recorded interview with Peter Heller, in"
"last two bouts. It saw Peter Fury exchanging a foul-mouthed argument with David Higgins at the final press conference in London. It started off with Higgins approaching Fury, unhappy with the appointment of British referee O'Connor for the fight. Higgins was then ejected from the press conference by security officials. Overall Higgins outburst caused a referee change after it began to create noise and headlines. As of 21 September, only 5,000 tickets had been sold since the start of the week. Hennessy was hoping to have a crowd of at least 8,000 at the arena, which has a capacity of"
"Bert Cooper over Francesco Damiani who suffered a foot injury in training days before the fight, Cooper surprised Holyfield with a very good effort. Holyfield scored the first knockdown of the fight against Cooper with a powerful shot to the body, but Cooper returned the favor with a good right hand that sent Holyfield against the ropes; while not an actual knockdown, referee Mills Lane gave Holyfield a standing eight-count. Having suffered the first technical knockdown of his professional career, Holyfield regained his composure quickly and administered a beating that left Cooper still on his feet, but unable to defend"
"field following a crowd disturbance after fast bowler John Snow had hit Australian lower-order batsman Terry Jenner on the head with a bouncer. Brooks’ colleague Lou Rowan had issued Snow with a warning for intimidatory bowling and Snow’s and Illingworth’s displeasure was clear to the crowd who booed passionately. When Snow finished his over and moved to his fielding position on the boundary, he was grabbed by a spectator, and had beer-cans thrown at him. Following the English walk-off, Illingworth was advised by the umpires either to resume or forfeit the match, and the players returned after the ground was"
"McGregor's face, and the onslaught continued into Round 10, when referee Robert Byrd eventually called the fight in favor of Mayweather after McGregor failed to defend himself. After the match Mayweather stated that he had expected McGregor to be a fast starter, and had allowed him to deliver his heavy blows early. McGregor on the other hand was disappointed by what he saw as an early stoppage, but respected the referee's decision. Former boxers such as George Foreman and Evander Holyfield expressed their impression regarding McGregor's boxing skills and the competitiveness of the fight, with Foreman claiming that experts who"
"The decision was met with loud boos from the crowd, while Lewis and his corner were left standing in disbelief. Immediately after the decision was announced, HBO announcers Jim Lampley and George Foreman called the decision ""a travesty"" and ""a shame"". Showtime analyst Steve Farhood stated ""I've been covering boxing twenty years. I would put this in the top five for the worst decisions I've seen."" Even New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani weighed in, also calling the decision ""a travesty"". Most of the blame was heaped upon Eugenia Williams, who had declared Evander Holyfield the winner. Though she initially denied"
"thrilled by the split decision announced in Peterson's favor. Khan scored a knockdown in the first round, but was penalized twice by Referee Joe Cooper, once for excessive shoving with the forearm and later for hitting on the break. The points proved to be the difference on the two scorecards that favored Peterson. After the bout Khan complained about the referee and made accusations of impropriety that the judges' scorecards had been """"interfered with"""" by a man at ringside who celebrated with Peterson after the decision. This man was later identified as Mustafa Ameen, a figure affiliated to the IBF"
"boxers weighed in within a pound of 135. Welling shone only in the fifth round, and by the tenth seemed able to continue, but had no chance of success against Leonard. In the thirteenth Leonard sent Welling down three times. In the fourteenth, Leonard sent Welling to the canvas for a count of nine, and the referee, stepping between the two boxers, ruled a technical knockout, ending the fight, 1:07 into the round. The lack of compassion in the boxing crowd was noted by one reporter, who wrote that the audience was disappointed by referee Haukup's decision to end the"
"to the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau which holds around 3000. Cojanu was ranked fourteenth giving him a chance to challenge for the world championship. Five days out from the fight, The British Boxing Board of Control appointed British referee Terry O'Connor, the same official in charge of Fury's last two bouts. Peter Fury had a foul-mouthed exchange with David Higgins at the final press conference in London. It started off with Higgins approaching Fury, who was unhappy with the appointment of British referee O'Connor for the fight. Higgins was then ejected from the press conference by security officials. Overall"
"was the subject of ""This Is Your Life"" in 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Thames Television's Euston Road Studios. Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was an English heavyweight boxer. Cooper held the British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight titles several times throughout his career, and unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in 1966. Following his retirement from the sport, Cooper continued his career as a television and radio personality; he was the first (and is today one of four people) to twice win the public vote for BBC Sports"
"previously, for Cooper's British, British Commonwealth and European titles. However, because Bugner was still too young to fight for the British Commonwealth title (the minimum age was twenty-one years old at the time), this much anticipated bout had to be postponed until the next year. While waiting to come of age, in 1971 he defeated Carl Gizzi and just weeks later and weeks before facing Cooper, drew with Bill Drover. Early in his professional years Bugner earned a reputation as a tough, durable but often exceptionally defensive and cautious boxer; he retained that image for the rest of his career."
"most famous joust with a referee came after his exclusion from Heat 14 of the 1982 World Final. After pleading his case he failed to change Torrie Kittlesen's mind. He then told Kittlesen that his decision had cost him the World Championship. Following this, Carter walked onto the track and stood at the tapes in a vain attempt to stop the re-run heat going ahead without him with most of the 40,000 strong crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum (who were firmly behind home town hero Penhall) booing him. Carter then had to be removed from the track by security"
"Showtime Championship Boxing's broadcasting team. The scorecards submitted by judges Carlos Colon and Alejandro Rochin, in particular, drew criticism as their four point advantage for Garcia were not reflective of the action in the ring. His bad luck with judging continued in his last fight of the year on December 13 against José Benavidez, when he lost by disputed decision. The HBO commenting team of Max Kellerman, Jim Lampley, and Roy Jones, Jr. all thought that Herrera had clearly won the fight. HBO unofficial judge Harold Lederman scored the fight 116-112 for Herrera, and most of the boxing writers at"
"tense atmosphere was stoked further when Minter was quoted as saying that ""No black man is going to take my title""—Minter would later insist he meant """"that"" black man"". Hagler took command and his slashing punches soon opened up the cut-prone Minter. With Hagler dominating the action, referee Carlos Berrocal halted the fight during the third round to have the four glaring cuts on Minter's face examined. Minter's manager, Doug Bidwell, almost immediately conceded defeat. Once Berrocal waved the bout off, a riot broke out among the spectators. Clive Gammon of Sports Illustrated described the scene as ""a horrifying ululation"
"of 115–114 and 116–112 respectively, while Dalby Shirley scored the fight even at 114–114. In the second round, Moorer was in control of the fight until Holyfield caught him with a left hook that dropped Moorer to the canvas. Though earning a knockdown would usually result in a round win for the fighter, judge Jerry Roth scored the round even at 10–10 instead of 10–9 which would have made the fight a majority draw in which Holyfield would have kept his titles. Holyfield's manager Shelly Finkel would protest the round, but the decision was upheld. Evander Holyfield was hospitalized after"
"backed him into a corner. Leonard responded with a furious flurry, landing few punches but whipping the upset-hoping crowd into a frenzy. Hagler backed off, and Leonard danced away with Hagler in pursuit. The fight ended with Hagler and Leonard exchanging along the ropes. At the final bell, even uniformed ringside security rushed into the ring applauding and lauding Leonard's effort. Leonard threw 629 punches and landed 306, while Hagler threw 792 and landed 291. Leonard was awarded a controversial split-decision. Judge Dave Moretti scored it 115–113 for Leonard, while judge Lou Filippo had it 115–113 for Hagler. Judge José"
"a cut over Cooper's eye which started bleeding profusely. Reflecting on the fight Cooper observed: The bout was fought at Arsenal Stadium, where it drew a live audience of 46,000 spectators. The fight held the record for the largest live audience at a British boxing event, up until Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler drew 55,000 spectators in 2007. On pay-per-view closed-circuit television, the fight drew 40,000 buys in England, where it was shown in 16 theaters, grossing $1.5million ($ with inflation). The fight was telecast at Odeon Cinemas. On pay-per-view home television, the fight drew 40,000 buys, as the first"
"a unanimous decision by Holmes, who won all 15 rounds on two of three scorecards. The bloody one-sidedness of the fight, which came 13 days after the bout between Ray Mancini and Duk Koo Kim that led to Kim's death four days later due to brain trauma, so horrified sportscaster Howard Cosell that he vowed never to cover another professional match, which Cobb jokingly referred to as his ""gift to the sport of boxing."" When prodded further regarding Cosell's remarks, Cobb observed, ""Hey, if it gets him to stop broadcasting NFL games, I'll go play football for a week, too!"""
"Chicago boxer Packey McFarland, one of the greatest lightweight boxers of history, which McFarland won on points. The contest caused controversy after Welsh was floored in the fourth round following what is believed to be a low shot. The referee failed to see the offending blow, and the match continued. When the points decision was announced there was jeering from the crowd, and accusations of favouritism were made, as referee Malachy Hogan was a Chicago man and had previously favoured Chicago fighters. With fan frustration after the McFarland match, a rematch was arranged for 4 July, with Welsh facing just"
"referee for this match and JYD counted the 3 himself. Commentators Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura then announced that a judge was at ringside and that JYD's count was legal. Tito Santana and Paul Orndorff fought to double countout, eliminating both wrestlers from the tournament in the process and allowing Junkyard Dog to advance to the finals. This led to Bobby Hennan's $50,000 storyline bounty on Paul Orndorff not being collected. In a non-tournament match, Hulk Hogan defended his WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Roddy Piper. Hogan applied a bearhug on Piper. Piper responded with a sleeper hold. The referee"
"player, Quade Cooper, on the undercard. After dominating most rounds but on the verge of being knocked out in the last round, Williams went on to win the bout by unanimous points decision, with the judges scoring 98–94, 97–91 and 97–91 in his favour. However, the victory was marred by controversy because at late notice (and unbeknownst to most people) the fight was shortened to ten rounds, instead of the scheduled twelve. Australian National Boxing Federation committee member John Hogg later stated that the decision to cut the bout short was made just before the fight started, with the approval"
"were intimidated by Bulgaria's Emil Jetchev (head of the boxing officials) into favoring the Bulgarian Todorov by a 10–9 decision in the 125-pound semifinal bout. Three of Jetchev's countrymen were in gold medal bouts. Judge Bill Waeckerle (one of the four U.S judges working the games for the International Amateur Boxing Federation) resigned as Olympic Games and federation judge after Mayweather lost the decision, which was loudly booed by the crowd at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. ""I refuse to be part of an organization that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner"", Waeckerle wrote in his letter of resignation"
"fans who had waited over a year to see Sting take down the nWo. The finish actually involved a recently introduced Bret Hart, who had refereed the preceding match between Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko for control of ""Nitro"", coming down to the ring after Hogan had supposedly won the match. Hart alleged that referee Nick Patrick had performed a fast count on Sting and wanted to ""make things right"". By many accounts, however, including Bischoff's in his memoir ""Controversy Creates Cash"", the count looked like a normal count, so Hart's protestations did not make sense; replays of the three-count on"
"lightweight championship match between Harry Hicken and Bryan Campbell took place at Colliers Station. After twenty-four rounds, both fighters fell and chaos descended on the crowd. The fighters’ seconds, Ned O’Baldwin and Owney Georghagen, began to fight, and O’Baldwin was beaten with a pistol by a spectator. The fight was broken up, and the referee declared Hicken to be the winner. In 1880, the bareknuckle boxing world heavyweight championship match between Paddy Ryan and Joe Goss was held in Colliers. The match was prevented from occurring in Canada with extra border control and undercover detectives in America. Pennsylvania authorities also"
"disgusted with the wide scorecards, ""This is corruption at its highest level in boxing. I thought it was an absolute masterclass, shades of Ali. Parker wasn't even in the fight. One of the worst decisions I've ever seen."" He said he would be appealing the decision. WBO vice-president John Duggan backed the decision to have Parker as the winner. He made it clear that the result would not be investigated or overturned. Surpassing his second defence and mandatory against Fury, Parker and his management team looked at taking him over to Japan. After a post-fight interview, Higgins suggested he was"
"chosen John ""Bradshaw"" Layfield (JBL) as the referee for the match, but before he could sign the contract, Stone Cold Steve Austin interrupted and delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to JBL, and then signed the contract himself. Beginning on the March 14, 2011 ""Raw"", Cole began announcing both ""Raw"" and ""SmackDown"" inside a glass booth which he called the ""Cole Mine"". Later that night, Cole invited Brian Christopher, Lawler's son, to the ring to reveal family secrets about Lawler. Christopher confronted his father and told him he was ashamed to use the name ""Lawler"" and accused him of being absent"
"retain the title. This set up a rematch with Evander Holyfield. In the rematch with Holyfield, Bowe looked overweight. He had entered training camp at a 266 lbs and weighed in at 246 lbs, eleven pounds heavier than in the first fight with Holyfield. Bowe and Holyfield exchanged hard punches. Bowe ended up losing the belts to Holyfield by a majority decision. This fight was also known for a bizarre stunt in which parachutist James ""Fan Man"" Miller dropped into the open air arena, landing in the ropes by Bowe's corner. This surreal scene delayed the fight in the seventh"