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'Extremely troubling': Photo exposes judge in boxing 'disgrace'

Pictured here, British boxing judge Terry O’Connor.
There are calls for Terry O’Connor to be removed from his role as a boxing judge. Pic: Sky Sports

Leading boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is leading calls for British judge Terry O’Connor to be removed from his role after a controversial mid-fight incident over the weekend.

Hearn - who is the promoter for heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua among others - wants O’Connor to be removed from the British Boxing Board of Control panel after he was pictured with a phone in his hand during a bout on Saturday night.

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Pictured captured during the eighth round of Brit Lewis Ritson's controversial split-decision win against Mexico’s Miguel Vazquez, show the judge on his phone and not paying immediate attention to what was transpiring inside the ring.

Judge Terry O'Connor is seen here on what appears to be a phone during the eighth round of a bout.
Images appeared to capture boxing judge Terry O'Connor on what appeared to be a phone during a bout. Pic: Sky Sports

O’Connor scored Ritson a 117-111 winner in the fight, with the two other judges scoring the bout 116-113 to Vazquez and 115-113 to Ritson.

Hearn tweeted the image at the centre of the controversy and said if found guilty, the judge has o be stood down.

“If that’s a phone (and I presume it is) then BBBofC should immediately remove him," he tweeted.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman also weighed in on the controversy, calling the image "extremely troubling to any person involved in boxing.”

Fans on social media also criticised the judge, calling the alleged offence a "disgrace" and also calling for him to be sanctioned.

Alleged incident set to be investigated

British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) general secretary Robert Smith said he was "very disappointed" and vowed that it will be investigated.

“I am so frustrated that this seems to have happened," Smith told Boxing News.

"After the hard work we do behind the scenes we have something like this emerging.

“Personally I am so disappointed. I can’t say anything more on this at this point.”

Hearn also took aim at O’Connor's scoring of the fight, stating his shock over the large winning margin he gave to Ritson in the contest.

“117-111 to Ritson was a disgrace of a [judging] card," Hearn said.

"And it’s terrible for the sport. People have got to be accountable for bad decisions.

"If you’re in a job and you don’t perform well, then you’ve got to face the consequences."

Smith said he can can "completely understand why people felt Vazquez had won" and insisted the fight would be looked at.

O'Connor was embroiled in another controversy last year when he awarded Callum Smith a big victory against John Ryder in a bout in November.

The British judge also scored that fight 117-111 in favour of Smith.

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