A committee set up by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) to review decisions on the Independence Day’s boxing promotion dubbed: ‘Shishii Fight Night’ staged by Asafoatse Nii Okukornenin I with support from Power Punch Promotions and Legacy Rise, has completed its work and declared the main bout involving Derrick Quaye, aka ‘Show Love’ and Henry Malm a ‘no contest.’
The committee also upheld the decision of the Can Neequaye versus Daniel Otoo fight that saw the latter dethrone the former as champion of the super featherweight division.
However, it ordered a compulsory rematch for the Otoo versus Neequaye championship on a date to be determined by any interested promoter.
The Second Vice President of the GBA, Mr Roger Barnor, who served as a member of the committee, disclosed in an interview with The Times Sports that the decisions were communicated to the various camps yesterday after its meeting.
The Independence Day promotion attracted a huge crowd to the Bukom Arena as Quaye and Malm gunned for the bragging rights in the headline bout.
But what was supposed to be a thriller turned chaotic in the fifth round as fans threw objects in apparent disapproval of events in the ring.
Both fighters had engaged in a lot of ‘rough tactics’, the height of which Malm lifted Quaye over the ropes and fell off.
Experienced Referee, Shadrack Acquaye, stepped in to penalise Malm with a two-point deduction, but that would not calm the fans down as more ‘riffles’ were thrown into the ring.
Sensing danger, the referee dismounted the ring and failed to return despite the many persuasions, insisting that he felt threatened to continue with the fight.
Explaining the committee’s decisions, Mr Barnor, who is also a seasoned boxing referee and judge, noted that in the case of Quaye and Malm, the fight was not halted by the action of any of the boxers or their Seconds, hence the ‘no contest’ ruling.
“After the incident in the ring, the referee made a decision and the offender (Malm) was deducted points and Seconds (Coaching staff) were spoken to by the referee. At this time, there was calm and both boxers were ready to continue but since the referee failed to return, none of the other parties could be blamed apart from the fans.
“When it happens like this, the scorecards cannot be used to determine the winner. So in the wisdom of the committee, the two would have to fight again, and that is mandatory,” he explained.
Roger Barnor also pointed out that Referee Shadrack Acquaye committed no offence in deciding to discontinue with the fight because he performed a basic duty to ensure the protection of everyone in the arena.
“We could only have replaced him in the case of an injury or any form of breakdown. If we decide to allow another referee in and something happens, that would go against the rules of the sport,” he added.
On the Neequaye versus Otoo fight, he emphasised that the committee upheld the decision on the night which saw the coronation of Otoo as the winner because the two major incidents considered for the decision would not have affected the decision in anyway.
Other members of the committee include Coach Ofori Asare, Nii Gonti Adjor I, Shadrack Acquaye and Alhaji Muritala Tofic.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
