Trusted referee escapes penalty
Marshall missed a KO punch in a title fight
The WBF will not take any action against its trusted referee Eddie Marshall who missed a legitimate punch in a WBF Inter-Continental junior middleweight title fight last weekend, WBF president Howard Goldberg has confirmed.
This relates to a punch that dropped Emmany Kalombo in the first round of the bout he eventually won by a fifth round KO over Nkululeko “Bull Dog” Mhlongo. Mhlongo’s short right to the jaw at close range dropped Kalombo, but Marshall ruled it a slip.
That error of judgement brought the ire of Mhlongo’s promoter Lebo Mahoko who protested in writing to Goldberg about Marshall’s mistake.
Mahoko, of Dream Team, wants the first round be reviewed because he feels his boxer was denied justice.
He argued that no one knows if Kalombo would have gotten up in time to beat Marshall’s count or that the knockdown would have propelled Mhlongo to press forward and finish off his man.
But Goldberg, who supervised the fight last weekend, said: “There is nothing to be reviewed because we all know it was a knockdown. Eddie made an error. I had a discussion with him and [he] admitted making an error.
“I am not going to take any action against Eddie who is one of the top experienced officials in the country. What happened was a blind sight.”
When approached for comment Boxing SA (BSA) chief operating officer Cindy Nkomo said BSA was not aware of any complaint made by any promoter to her office. “I also cannot comment on the fight because I did not see it,” said Nkomo. “If I get footage, I will have a look.”
Kalombo’s victory improved his knockout record to nine in as many fights, while Mhlongo suffered his first KO loss in six defeats against 12 wins.