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We at Team Gunn want to share our thoughts on the worst
officiated fight in recent title fight history. Before that,
we do want to speak on the positive. We want to thank the
good people of Nashville for their warm welcome and
continued support of Bobby Gunn, the uncrowned cruiserweight
champion. We proved this weekend in our home away from home
that we are the true people’s champion.
Shelby Gross was the benefactor of a long count that puts
Tunney-Dempsey II to shame. His disqualification-worthy
tactics in round two were appalling, having no place in the
confines of a professional boxing ring.
Because of the deplorable actions – and inactions - of
referee Freddie Boges, we have officially filed a protest
with the International Boxing Association, the Tennessee
Boxing and Racing Commission, the Tennessee Department of
Commerce and Insurance, and the state’s Attorney General’s
office.
Our first area of concern was with referee Freddie Boges
given permission to officiate the IBA world cruiserweight
title fight on Friday, March 31, 2006. It has come to our
attention that Mr. Boges lied about his being certified with
the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC). All major
sanctioning bodies and state commissions require all of
their officials to be ABC certified. To be eligible to
officiate a world title fight, you must supply proof of your
certification. Mr. Boges failed to do so, before or after
the match.
His lack of qualifications was apparent as early as the
pre-fight instructions. He repeatedly deferred all questions
to IBA Ratings Chairman Norm Longtin, rather than answer
them on his own – simply put, perform his job.
Onto the fight.
Less than forty seconds into the round, Bobby Gunn dropped
Shelby Gross for the first of two times in the round. Gross
beat the count, but acted in accordance with his corner to
spit out his mouthpiece and buy some time. Such audio can be
overheard in the video, which was been supplied to IBA
President Dean Chance, and ABC President Tim Lueckenhoff,
among others. As a result, Gross was able to buy close to
thirty seconds of recovery time.
He briefly recovered, but could not avoid the Gunn show.
Bobby was all over him, sensing that his long awaited goal
of becoming a world cruiserweight champion was well within
reach in less than a round. Gross managed to absorb an
enormous amount of punishment before a barrage punctuated by
a vicious body shot laid him out flat on his back. According
to the video – which is presently available for public
viewing on promoter Fight Beat Entertainment’s website (www.fightbeat.com)
– Gross was FLAT ON HIS BACK for twelve seconds, and off of
his feet for a grand total of EIGHTEEN SECONDS.
Despite the referee’s obvious shortcomings, is it still too
much that we ask a grown man to be able to count to ten? In
this case, yes it was. There is no feasible explanation for
Boges counting in super-slow motion. Nor does it excuse the
fact that he stopped the count at nine (which was closer to
eighteen seconds in real time). Instead of counting out
Gross, he stopped and watched him rise to his feet. You
don’t allow a fighter more time than the mandatory ten
seconds a fighter is given to recover from a knockdown. Mr.
Boges allowed such to occur, his actions obvious to everyone
at ringside, including IBA Ratings Chairman Norm Longtin.
“(The fight) was the most incompetent performance I have
ever seen by a referee,” said Longtin. “I went over with the
commission what I saw transpire in the ring including the
longest count I have ever seen - it was so slow that it
reminded me of a refs count over two fallen wrestlers.”
The count lasted so long that everyone EXCEPT for Mr. Boges
thought the fight was over. Even when he finally rose to his
feet, Gross took out his mouthpiece and threw his arms in
the air, unable answer the referee’s question. At that
point, a member of the commission entered the ring with a
stool – believing the fight was over, KO1 for Bobby Gunn. In
any state, the commission will enter the ring with a stool
the moment the fight is over. The reason is that they want
to have the fighter seated and off of his feet as quickly as
possible to maximize and expedite his recovery time.
Apparently, Mr. Boges was unaware of the rules in his own
state, or even in what was literally his own ring. Instead,
he waited for the ring to clear, and proceeded with the
action. He never called time, which denied Bobby the chance
to knock him out for the second time in one round.
Between the end of the first round and the start of the
second round, the turnbuckle mysteriously and conveniently
becoming undone. Who did it and why, we’ll leave up to you
the fans and media. All we do know is that Gross was given
even more time to recover from the enormous beating he
absorbed in the opening round.
Even with the additional recovery time, Gross was still
visibly shaken when the second round finally went underway.
Bobby was still doing his thing in the ring, before getting
clipped by a wild, hail Mary-like haymaker. Shelby
capitalized, and soon put Bobby on the canvas for the first
time in his career.
What took place soon thereafter easily ranks among the most
despicable acts ever witnessed in a boxing ring. Perhaps not
on the level of Mike Tyson chewing off a piece of Evander
Holyfield’s ear, but certainly not too far behind.
Bobby was left defenseless on the canvas. Boges’ horrendous
reaction time allowed Gross to race over, kneel down, stick
his knees in Bobby’s chest and wail away on a defenseless
target, hitting Bobby with fists and elbows. Boges FINALLY
reacted to Gross’ life-threatening actions by bear-hugging
him and body-slamming him to the canvas.
The following are taken directly from the ABC’s home page (www.abcboxing.com)
in regards to actions to be taken in the event of an
intentional foul:
A. Intentional fouls.
1. If an intentional foul causes an injury, and the injury
is severe enough to terminate the bout immediately, the
boxer causing the injury shall lose by disqualification.
2. If an intentional foul causes an injury and the bout is
allowed to continue, the referee will notify the authorities
and deduct (2) points from the boxer who caused the foul.
Point deductions for intentional fouls will be mandatory.
3. If an intentional foul causes an injury and the injury
results in the bout being stopped in a latter round, the
injured boxer will win by TECHNICAL DECISION if he is ahead
on the score cards or the bout will result in a TECHNICAL
DRAW if the injured boxer is behind or even on the score
cards.
4. If boxer injures himself while attempting to
intentionally foul his opponent, the referee will not take
any action in his favor, and this injury will be the same as
one produced by a fair blow.
5. If the referee feels that a boxer has conducted himself
in an unsportsmanlike-like manner he may stop the bout and
disqualify the boxer.
None of the above was ever enforced by the referee. Instead,
Boges warned Gross that the next time would result in a
disqualification. Whoop-de-damn-doo. The only recovery time
Bobby was afforded was the mandatory eight-count and the
time it took to recover, clean and re-insert his mouthpiece,
which was exited as a result of the deplorable tactics
exuded by Gross.
There’s not much to be said about the rest of the round.
Bobby tried his hardest to recover, but was out of it.
Admittedly, the fight should have been stopped after the
second knockdown. But Bobby is a warrior to the very end,
and was able to sell to the referee that he was able to
continue. That’s not saying much, though – with this
referee, all it would have taken to be able to fight on was
to utter senseless babble. He did somehow remain on his feet
for the remainder of the round, trying his damnest to fight
his way back into the fight. But Gross was the fresher of
the two at that point, and his final blows put Bobby out for
the night.
That said, Bobby was not granted the same opportunities at
the end of the round, as was Gross during the second
knockdown of the first round. Bobby’s head slammed to the
canvas just as the timekeeper FINALLY rang the bell to end a
round that lasted nearly five minutes. All he had to do was
beat the count and then be escorted back to his corner. From
there, he could be evaluated after a full minutes’ rest to
see if he was fit to continue for round three. Instead,
Boges counted to eight and then evaluated him. Bobby
couldn’t keep his footing and the fight was stopped.
What we have a hard time digesting, though, is the
inconsistent actions of the referee. Gross was granted the
benefit of the doubt in the opening round. We were not given
the same opportunities in round two. Hey, give us eighteen
seconds to rise from a knockdown and the chance to mount our
fallen opponent and freely swing on him, and we’re right
back in the fight.
What we at Team Gunn are protesting is what Gross was
ALLOWED to do – in order to win the fight. Gross did all of
that, because an unqualified, incompetent referee afforded
him the opportunity to do so.
Our protest is predicated on the following facts:
- Mr. Boges was granted permission to officiate a world
title fight with supplying sufficient proof of being ABC
certified (simply, because he is NOT ABC certified),
therefore violating the rules set forth by the IBA, ABC and
the Tennessee Boxing and Racing Commission.
- As evident on the video replay, Mr. Gross was flat on his
back for approximately twelve seconds in the end of the
first round, and took eighteen total seconds to recover from
a knockdown, only to benefit from a count so slow, a
ten-count in instant replay would have taken less time.
- As also evident on the replay, the turnbuckle became
undone in between the first and second rounds. All that can
be seen for the moment is a hand reaching in from the Gross
camp. The next screen shows the turnbuckle on the canvas,
off of the ring post.
- Also evident on the replay is Gross’ intentional foul and
life-threatening beating given to Gunn on the canvas, which
was not handled by the referee in accordance of the
Association of Boxing Commissions.
We have said our peace, and turn the matter over to the
proper authorities: the International Boxing Association,
the Association of Boxing Commissions, and the Tennessee
Division of Commerce and Insurance. We can only hope for a
swift and just resolution to this matter. Mr. Gross should
be disqualified - in fact, declared the losing fighter via
first-round knockout. Bobby Gunn should be crowned the IBA
world cruiserweight champion, or at the very least have the
fight declared a no-contest, and a mandatory rematch be
issued.
Before we close, we would like to thank the IBA for allowing
us the opportunity to fight for the title. We would also
like to thank the people of Nashville for once again opening
their arms to Team Gunn.
Finally, we part with this: for years, we struggled with the
perfect nickname for Bobby Gunn. “Irish” Bobby Gunn was not
unique, nor did it reflect his global following or his
Canadian upbringing. Other nicknames have been offered, but
none were fitting. After Friday night, Bobby has finally
earned a nickname befitting his courage in the ring:
“Braveheart” Bobby Gunn, The uncrowned people’s champion.
We thank those who offered their overwhelming support
regarding what took place this weekend, and patiently await
the outcome.
Sincerely,
Team Bobby Gunn
The People’s Champion
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