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'How guys get hurt': Outrage over boxing referee's 'dangerous' call

andrew reid
·4-min read
Pictured here, Eric Walker lay on the canvas after a ninth round hit from Israil Madrimov.
Eric Walker was in big trouble after a ninth round hit from Israil Madrimov. Pic: DAZN

A boxing referee has been accused of endangering the safety of a veteran fighter after making a controversial call in a super welterweight showdown.

Uzbekistan boxer Israil Madrimov secured a comprehensive victory over 37-year-old American veteran Eric Walker, but it was the actions of referee Gary Ritter that left many viewers outraged.

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Madrimov looked to have wrapped up the victory in the ninth round of the fight when a vicious left hook sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.

Walker looked to be in a bad way as he lay sprawled on the canvas but the referee ruled that it wasn't a knock down.

The official ruled that it was the contact from Madrimov’s shoulder that caused Walker to hit the canvas, despite replays suggesting it was a solid left to the face that did the damage.

As such, Walker was told to get up by the referee and given more than a minute to recover despite complaining of dizziness.

Walker then suffered three more rounds of punishment from Madrimov, who won via a comfortable unanimous decision (116-110, 116-110, 116-111).

Combat reporter Chris Mannix was among those viewers furious with the referee's call that he said put Walker under unnecessary danger.

“Brutal referee call. Walker is basically out cold. Referee says it wasn’t a knockdown. Says Madrimov pushed him down. OK,” Mannix tweeted.

“Here’s the bigger problem with this call: Referee can see, even after the bad call, that Walker is knocked out. So he lets him lie on the ground for a minute … then tells him he has five to recover. Dangerous.

Seen here, the left hook from Israil Madrimov that sent Eric Walker crashing to the canvas.
Israil Madrimov hit Walker with a brutal left hook that sent the American crashing to the canvas. Pic: DAZN

“Eric Walker was brave, took an enormous amount of punishment. But he should have been knocked out in the ninth round and then the referee and his corner let him take an absolute beating over the last three. That’s how guys get hurt.

“I can’t get past what I saw in Walker-Madrimov. Boxing was rocked by several in-ring deaths in 2019. A referee let a fight continue after a fighter, Eric Walker, was knocked out. Walker’s corner let it continue. Then he took a brutal beating. We learn nothing. Nothing.”

Referee slammed for allowing Walker to fight on

Walker's promoter Lou DiBella, who couldn't attend the fight due to COVID-19 restrictions, insisted his man shouldn't have been allowed to continue fighting when he was in obvious trouble.

“I don’t care what caused it or what the reason was,” DiBella said.

“I’m not willing to crucify a referee for an angle he didn’t see. But at that moment, the fight shouldn’t have continued.

"Go to the scorecards. Don’t take a break if the guy is concussed. It was a very dangerous mistake. The fight should not have gone on from that point.

“I would have gone to his corner and said I think you should throw the towel in.

“Or we would have gone to the commission table and said go to the scorecards. There were a lot of mistakes.”