By Alexey Sukachev 

Salle des etoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco -We say "It's time to call it a day" for fighters who are ready to hang'em up. But this phrase can be equally addressed to referees, who don't work by the highest standards of pugilism, even if they followed them in their glorious past. A bad sample of refereeing by the lowest standards has been arguably offered tonight by Hall-of-Fame South African Stanley Christodoulou, who did a poor job (in eyes of this reporter) in calming nerves of once-defeated fighters Maxim Bursak of Ukraine and Jarrod Fletcher from the Down Under in their WBA International middleweight contest, which resulted in a unanimous decision for WBA #4 Fletcher. Official scores were 115-111, 115-111 and 114-112 - for the Australian. BoxingScene had it a draw 113-113, with two questionable point deductions in favor of Fletcher.

It's to be understood the fight was never easy for refereeing. Both contestants tried to land a couple of punches, then to hug and clinch one another. European champion Bursak (WBO #5, WBA #6, WBC #10 and IBF #11), 29, wasn't sharp and looked ordinary in his activities but Fletcher, 30 and 2008 Beijing Olympian, didn't look at his best either. He was better with his footwork but he moved mostly laterally or backwards, while the Ukrainian was an aggressor. The fight was very dirty. Provoking his foe was the Australian but Bursak easily followed the pre-planned path by hitting at the break (tightly) and at the back of the head of Fletcher. The first point deduction came after the single rabbit punch following another circle of Fletcher in the second round.