Tweet
Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson should have rematch, says WBA chief
with video - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/16450797.stm
World Boxing Association president Gilberto Mendoza has called for a rematch of the bout between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson.
Khan lost his WBA and IBF titles to Peterson in Washington DC in December but has questioned a number of aspects of the fight, including an unknown man seen talking to the judges.
Mendoza said: "It generates a lot of controversy. There should be a rematch.
"The [Washington DC] Commission did not behave properly in this fight."
Olympic silver medallist Khan lost his light-welterweight titles on a split decision after being deducted one point in both the seventh and 12th rounds but has appealed against the verdict.
Judges George Hill and Valerie Dorsett scored the fight 113-112 in favour of Peterson, with Nelson Vasquez giving the bout to Khan 115-110.
Hill's card looked to have originally given the seventh round to Khan, but contains amendments that resulted in Peterson taking it 10-8.
On Thursday, Khan accused the unidentified man of "interfering" with officials and the judges' scorecards by posting a number of images from the bout on his Twitter page.
The Bolton fighter claimed the man talked to WBA supervisor Michael Welsh and also celebrated with Peterson after his win.
However, when contacted by BBC Sport, Welsh refused to answer any questions about the mystery man or what was said.
Mendoza asserted that the man claimed to be an International Boxing Federation official but the IBF say they are not making any comment on his identity.
The WBA also said that it has no knowledge of the man's identity, while Mendoza added that Welsh was ignored when he raised concerns about the individual at ringside.
"Welsh was concerned about the gentleman being around him and couldn't get the coordination to do his job properly during the fight," said Mendoza. "He said he was totally ignored by the commission in Washington."
Khan's business manager, Asif Vali, said that they had written to the boxing authorities for explanations to several areas of concern.
"We did the table plan with Golden Boy Promotions [Khan's promoter] and the WBA official was already in his seat and the IBF official was already in his seat, so who is this person?" he asked.
"What's he doing talking to the WBA? Why is he handling the slips?
"These are legitimate questions and if they give us sufficient reasons for it then I'll accept it. I want to see what the reasons are.
"We're not saying there is foul play involved in any way, shape or form. I just need the answers for the sequence of events that have taken place. Nothing else.
"I'm not accusing any of the bodies. Lamont Peterson is the champion and good luck to him for 2012."
with video - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/16450797.stm
World Boxing Association president Gilberto Mendoza has called for a rematch of the bout between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson.
Khan lost his WBA and IBF titles to Peterson in Washington DC in December but has questioned a number of aspects of the fight, including an unknown man seen talking to the judges.
Mendoza said: "It generates a lot of controversy. There should be a rematch.
"The [Washington DC] Commission did not behave properly in this fight."
Olympic silver medallist Khan lost his light-welterweight titles on a split decision after being deducted one point in both the seventh and 12th rounds but has appealed against the verdict.
Judges George Hill and Valerie Dorsett scored the fight 113-112 in favour of Peterson, with Nelson Vasquez giving the bout to Khan 115-110.
Hill's card looked to have originally given the seventh round to Khan, but contains amendments that resulted in Peterson taking it 10-8.
On Thursday, Khan accused the unidentified man of "interfering" with officials and the judges' scorecards by posting a number of images from the bout on his Twitter page.
The Bolton fighter claimed the man talked to WBA supervisor Michael Welsh and also celebrated with Peterson after his win.
However, when contacted by BBC Sport, Welsh refused to answer any questions about the mystery man or what was said.
Mendoza asserted that the man claimed to be an International Boxing Federation official but the IBF say they are not making any comment on his identity.
The WBA also said that it has no knowledge of the man's identity, while Mendoza added that Welsh was ignored when he raised concerns about the individual at ringside.
"Welsh was concerned about the gentleman being around him and couldn't get the coordination to do his job properly during the fight," said Mendoza. "He said he was totally ignored by the commission in Washington."
Khan's business manager, Asif Vali, said that they had written to the boxing authorities for explanations to several areas of concern.
"We did the table plan with Golden Boy Promotions [Khan's promoter] and the WBA official was already in his seat and the IBF official was already in his seat, so who is this person?" he asked.
"What's he doing talking to the WBA? Why is he handling the slips?
"These are legitimate questions and if they give us sufficient reasons for it then I'll accept it. I want to see what the reasons are.
"We're not saying there is foul play involved in any way, shape or form. I just need the answers for the sequence of events that have taken place. Nothing else.
"I'm not accusing any of the bodies. Lamont Peterson is the champion and good luck to him for 2012."
Comment