He came. He saw. He conquered. And then he got hosed . . . by two International Boxing Federation (IBF) judges, Saturday night at the Pepsi Coliseum in Québec City, Québec, Canada.
Top-rated lightweight contender Funeka, who battered undefeated two-division world champion Joan Guzman from pillar to post during their 12-round rumble for the vacant IBF lightweight title, received a Royal Canadian Mounting, coming away with a Majority Draw. Joseph Pasquale scored it 116-112 for Funeka while judges Alan Davis and Benoit Roussel scored it 114-114. Harold Lederman, HBO's unofficial judge, also had Funeka winning by a comfortable margin.
"Let me put it to you this way, Ali got screwed and he didn't even get kissed," said an irate GARY SHAW, Funeka's co-promoter, who watched the fight from ringside. "Ali got robbed. As one reporter told me, '...this decision was so bad it made the Diaz-Malignaggi decision look legitimate.' This may be the worst decision since Lewis-Holyfield I and it needs to be addressed with a formal investigation by the IBF and Interpol. I implore the Promoters Association to issue a formal statement in support of such an investigation. At the very least, the IBF should make Funeka its interim lightweight champion so that no matter who he fights next, it's world title fight. We must stop robbing fighters, sending them home with nothing but shattered dreams instead of the rewards they earned in the ring."
That is the consensus of spectators, viewers, media and the HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast team which broadcast the fight live. A decision that was "...curious and absurd," said HBO Boxing After Dark blow-by-blow announcer Bob Papa at the end of the telecast.
HBO WILL REPLAY THE FIGHT THIS WEEK! SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 and TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1:
HBO: Nov. 29 (8:45 a.m. ET/PT) & Nov. 30 (11:40 p.m. ET/PT)
HBO2: Nov. 29 (6:15 p.m. ET /PT) & Dec. 1 (11:55 p.m. ET/PT)