Nod of approval for Clifton
OTAGO boxing identity Eldon Clifton officiated at his first international event in Singapore last month and made a good fist of it.
The 58yearold was officiating in the same event in which former Dunedin fighter Chase Haley stepped out of the unknown and into the vacant International
Boxing Organisation OceaniaOriental light heavyweight belt when he defeated Muhammad Meeraj by majority decision to claim the title.
Clifton was selected to judge two Universal Boxing Organisation world title fights and seven other fights. He also refereed four corporate fights.
He received high praise from his fellow officials as well as from IBO vicepresident Steve Scott.
‘‘Eldon’s over 40 years of boxing experience certainly shone through,’’ Scott said.
‘‘Eldon is an extremely competent ref and judge.’’
Clifton has had a long association with the sport. He started out in the ring and boxed for New Zealand for three years from 1980 to 1983. He came close to making the New Zealand Olympic team in 1984 but was ruled out with a foot injury.
He retired from the sport in 1985 but was lured back in 2000 when his son, Kane, started boxing.
He has been coaching ever since and in 2015 was made a life member of the New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association. A caregiver to four adult men with disabilities, Clifton practises his judging skills by scoring professional bouts on television and comparing his score with the judge’s verdict.
To prepare for the event in Singapore, he spent two hours a day watching fights and scoring them.
‘‘In Singapore I was very pleased that I was given a stamp of approval,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘One judge I was talking to from Thailand, who has done 964 fights, said my judging scores were almost identical to his.
‘‘I managed to pick nine winners out of nine. There were four split decisions but fortunately I was on the right side.’’
Clifton hopes to get further opportunities. There is another major boxing event in Singapore in October and he hopes to be scoring the fights.