Aftermath of Controversial Mykal Fox-Gabriel Maestre Fight
On Saturday August 7, Maestre (4-0) was scheduled to face Cody Crowley (19-0) with the WBA Interim Welterweight championship on the line. Maestre had the opportunity to take part in
On Saturday August 7, Maestre (4-0) was scheduled to face Cody Crowley (19-0) with the WBA Interim Welterweight championship on the line. Maestre had the opportunity to take part in the Olympics as they are now open to professional fighters but opted to take this fight instead.
However, Crowley tested positive for COVID-19 forcing him out of the bout a week before. This led to Mykal Fox (22-3) stepping in to replace Crowley with just five days to prepare.
Per Dan Rafael, Mykal Fox will reportedly step in to face Gabriel Maestre in PBC on Fox’s August 7 event in Minneapolis, after Cody Crowley tests positive for Covid-19
More: https://t.co/XDG0A8XWE7 pic.twitter.com/n0fO5cA0Er
— Bad Left Hook (@badlefthook) August 2, 2021
The start of the fight was delayed as Fox’s team noticed that Maestre’s gloves were illegally taped forcing them to be re-wrapped in the ring.
Fox dominated the bout outboxing Maestre using his height and reach advantage stepping in and out of range landing well-timed punches in between frustrating his opponent as he was unable to mount a consistent offense.
Marcos Villegas, the unofficial scorer for Fox’s broadcast, scored the fight 118-109 in favor of Fox. The official judges, however, did not feel the same way as they scored the fight unanimously in favor of Maestre with scorecards reading 114-113, 115-112 and 117-110.
As soon as Maestre was announced the winner all of the announcers for the fight including former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, longtime boxing trainer Joe Goossen and longtime sportcaster Brian Kenny each shared their shock and frustration with the decision.
It was not just the announcers that were shocked by the decision as many well-known fighters took to social media to share their displeasure with the decision.
I’m gonna stop watching boxing for a few weeks I’m disgusted 🤦🏽♂️
— Jrock (@Jrockboxing) August 8, 2021
Mykal Fox #Robbery
— Michael Hunter ll (@MichaelHunterII) August 8, 2021
Fuck boxing how you steal that shit from that man
— Tony Harrison (@Iamboxing) August 8, 2021
The 117-110 scorecard coming from Gloria Martinez-Rizzo caught everyone’s attention as she scored just one round for Fox outside of the second round in which he scored a knockdown.
This caused people to research her unearthing some previous racist tweets and uncovered that she is married to an executive in the WBA. Her racist tweets included calling Michelle Obama “monkey face” and saying that LeBron James is “so stupid the only thing he can do is play basketball” among other things.
When Fox saw these revelations come to light, he reacted by saying “I was never gonna win on her card.” Martinez-Rizzo has since been suspended six months by the WBA for her egregious scorecard and her racist tweets.
https://twitter.com/corey_erdman/status/1424244494417924101?s=20
WBA president Gilberto Mendoza tells ESPN he is suspending Gloria Martinez Rizzo six months following her controversial Mykal Fox-Gabriel Maestre scorecard.
Mendoza will consider permanent expulsion for Rizzo after her racist tweets were discovered https://t.co/WOgntMv0bt
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) August 12, 2021
WBA President Gilberto Mendoza announced that there will be an investigation into the fight’s scorecards. In the meantime, the WBA has ordered an immediate rematch between Forestville’s own Mykal Fox and Gabriel Maestre at the request of Fox promoter Marshall Kauffman.
Mykal Fox does have the option to contest the decision but the WBA requires a payment fee of $10,000 along with other criteria including a statement of grounds for the decision’s review and a signature from a non-boxer.
