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British boxing judge wants to work rematch
LONDON (AP) -- The judge who became the most unpopular man in British sports by scoring the Evander Holyfield-Lennox Lewis fight a draw would like to handle the rematch.But he's not counting on it.
"Yes, I'd definitely do it," Larry O'Connell said Tuesday. "But I don't think they'd want me."
O'Connell admits being surprised that his scorecard showed a draw for Saturday night's heavyweight title bout at Madison Square Garden. However, he ruled out any error in judgment.
In a result widely condemned on both sides of the Atlantic, another judge called the fight for Lewis, the WBC champion, and the other gave it to Holyfield, WBA-IBF champion. The draw meant both fighters kept their belts.
O'Connell, a 60-year-old British judge, has faced heavy criticism since returning from New York. He says he understands the response but insists he did nothing wrong.
"It was a lot closer than it might have appeared," he said. "I've been answering questions since the fight ended and I've been taken out of context and misquoted about making mistakes. But I've also had a lot of support from friends and people who've reviewed the fight."
O'Connell says such issues as nationalism do not affect his judgment.
"When I go to judge a fight I only see two pairs of shorts, not a British boxer and an American," he said.
"People maybe expected me to favour Lewis because I'm British but you can't play it like that.
"OK, you might get a gut feeling about how the fight is going, but you have to ignore it. What you see, round by round, ends up on the scorecard. You just have to focus.
"You keep your score for each round. You can't add up the totals -- that's unethical -- so I didn't know what my final score was until I heard it read out."
Based on Saturday's fight, O'Connell said he thinks Lewis would win a rematch.
"If Holyfield doesn't want a rematch then he should retire. He's got nothing else to fight for," he said.
O'Connell, who has spent 23 years as a judge or referee, was appointed by the WBC for the bout.
"(WBC) appointed me so they obviously think I must have something going for me," he said. "It just happened to be the biggest fight in years and I happen to be caught in the middle."
Jose Sulaiman, the head of the WBC, called O'Connell a man of "unquestionable integrity and competence and a proven impartiality."
However, Sulaiman said that Lewis was "robbed" and is the deserving champion.
"We would like to think that image of impartiality was unconsciously assumed by Mr. O'Connell, but he definitely exceeded it," Sulaiman said.
O'Connell said he didn't think the bout was "the greatest fight on God's earth."
"Unfortunately, I think Lennox could have avoided all this controversy for us if he'd boxed for an opportunity instead of waiting for a break," he said.
"(Lewis) could have done it in the fifth round but he waited for about 20 seconds when maybe he should have been more positive."
O'Connell added that he felt sorry for both Lewis and the fans.
"Lennox has done nothing wrong -- he's never missed a challenge."
He called Lewis an example of "what is right about sport."
"Since the fight he's been a real sportsman," he said. "I hope he gets another chance."
O'Connell said any insinuation about a fix was "total nonsense."
He said he couldn't comment on U.S. judge Eugenia Williams scoring the bout for Holyfield.
"I'm not criticizing her. ... She's got her view and that's how she scored the fight," he said.
The other judge, Stanley Christodoulou of South Africa, scored the fight for Lewis.
"He's even more experienced than me," O'Connell said. "All of the officials have a good record in boxing."