Hang the referee

It was fitting that last Saturday’s slugfest was at the Waterfront in Cebu City. Like a Pier 6 brawl, the IBF superflyweight title eliminator between hometown favorite Z Gorres and villainous invader Vic Darchinyan of Australia was almost a no-holds-barred affair with referee Lance Revill unable to control the ruckus in the ring.

Revill’s inexperience was evident. He had never before officiated a fight outside of his native New Zealand and it showed in the way he bungled the job. 

“It was the toughest fight I’ve ever done,” admitted Revill after the bout. The shaky visitor clearly buckled under the pressure of an unruly crowd that pelted the ring with plastic water bottles and coins after he ruled a knockdown when Gorres slipped in the first round.

Revill confessed he made a mistake.

“I was on the back side and didn’t see whether Gorres was hit or went down on his own or was pushed,” continued Revill. “What I saw was Gorres out on his feet and Darchinyan pressing. So I presumed it was a knockdown. I missed that one and I apologized to Gorres in his corner after the round.”

It wasn’t the only one he missed.

When Gorres was cut in the sixth round, Revill insisted the wound was inflicted by a blow. Looking at the gash on Gorres’ right temple, no one in his right mind would think a punch did it. The cut was shaped like a reverse C and could’ve only been caused by a headbutt.

“No way it was a butt,” said Revill. “It was a right hand. No, it was a left.

Surprisingly, Revill never summoned a ringside physician – there were three doctors on standby – to check on Gorres’ cut. He had six rounds to do it but not once did he call the doctor despite blood spewing out from the gash.

Gorres’ cutman Tony Martin said he had difficulty controlling the spillage because the butt split a vein.

Luckily, Revill didn’t stop the fight because of the cut. If he did, Darchinyan would’ve won by technical knockout since Revill stood firmly on his opinion that a punch caused the wound. That would’ve triggered a riot because everyone knew, except Revill, a butt opened the cut.

In an interview, I asked Revill if he ever considered halting the bout because of the cut. 

“Never,” he said. “The blood wasn’t obstructing Gorres’ vision. But if I had stopped it, I would’ve checked if it was before or after the fourth round because under the rules, you go to the scorecards if you stop it after four rounds.”

Revill’s reply confounded me. If he thought the cut was opened by a punch, a stoppage would’ve meant a technical knockout win, regardless of the round. A technical decision would’ve been called if Revill stopped it and ruled an accidental headbutt inflicted the damage. Obviously, Revill was a confused man.

Darchinyan, a notorious roughhouser, used every trick not in the book to bully Gorres. He kneed, elbowed, forearmed and tripped Gorres. The Australian repeatedly pushed him down, resulting in one slip after another. Yet, no point was ever deducted from Darchinyan’s scorecard. There were feeble warnings but Revill was hardly in the mood to ruffle anyone’s feathers.

Worse, Revill tried to make up for his boo-boo in the first round by negating a clear knockdown in the fifth. Darchinyan belted Gorres with a hard left and the Filipino fell on his knees, grabbing the Australian’s legs in the process. Darchinyan tried to move away from Gorres who was dragged across the ring. Revill ruled it a slip.

Revill’s incompetence and Darchinyan’s ugly style infuriated the spectators who were only quieted down after Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chairman Eric Buhain appealed for sobriety via the public address system at the end of the second round.

At the final bell, the crowd again threw plastic water bottles into the ring as Darchinyan pranced around boorishly. A flying bottle struck Darchinyan’s trainer Billy Hussein in the back of the head.

Gorres fought a perfect fight in the first five rounds. He scored a legitimate knockdown in the second and frustrated Darchinyan with his defense. Gorres darted in and out, piling up points behind a jab-straight or jab-hook combination. Whenever Darchinyan rushed in to throw the left, Gorres ducked then straightened up to throw the Australian off balance. Gorres used his speed, lateral movement and smarts to build an early lead.

But Gorres eventually ran out of steam. Darchinyan slowly wore down Gorres with his roughhousing. To his credit, the Australian was in excellent physical condition and his stamina was remarkable. After Gorres suffered the cut in the sixth, he was never the same. In the ninth, he was floored and looked ready to go. His legs were unstable. Gorres was lucky to finish the fight on his feet. In the last few rounds, he looked more to survive than to make a final stand. 

With a competent referee, Gorres would’ve won a close verdict because Darchinyan would’ve been deducted at least a point for his shenanigans. As it turned out, the outcome was a split draw. If Darchinyan was slapped even a one-point deduction, Gorres would’ve won by a split decision.