Ritson judge cleared of using phone

BRITISH judge Terry O’Connor has been cleared of looking at his phone while officiating the lightwelterweight fight between Lewis Ritson and Miguel Vazquez last weekend.

Ritson was handed a hotlydisputed split-decision victory in Peterborough, where O’Connor’s scorecard of 117-111 in favour of the Newcastle fighter came in for severe criticism.

A stills image then surfaced on social media which alleged O’Connor had glanced down at his mobile while the fight was unfolding, leading to him being summoned to appear before British Boxing Board of Control stewards.

However, after an “extensive” review of the footage, the BBBofC exonerated O’Connor, an experienced official who has judged more than 500 fights in his career and was also a professional fighter himself.

A BBBofC statement said: “The stewards are satisfied that Mr O’Connor was not in possession of any telephone or handheld device while carrying out his duties as a judge in the contest between Lewis Ritson and Miguel Vazquez and his scoring of said bout was not affected in any way.”

A second judge scored the fight 115-113 to Ritson while a third gave the nod to former world champion Vazquez with a 116-113 verdict.

Ritson’s promoter Eddie Hearn, who was not at the East of England Arena because of coronavirus restrictions, was among a number of high-profile figures who felt the Mexican fighter deserved to have his hand raised.

Manager Sam Jones, who oversees the career of British heavyweight Joe Joyce, went one step further as he wrote on Twitter: “I promise that’s the worst decision I’ve ever seen in boxing.”

But the BBBofC added: “Mr O’Connor’s scoring of the bout was considered and while judging a contest is subjective and, following Mr O’Connor’s explanation of how he scored the bout, the stewards are satisfied that Mr O’Connor’s final score reflected his own opinion of the contest.”

Forest Hall native Ritson improved his record to 21 wins in 22 professional contests while Vazquez, the former IBF lightweight champion, suffered the 10th defeat of his 52-fight career and fifth in his most recent eight outings.