Following his 114-111 scorecard in favour of Josh Taylor against Jack Catterall on February 26 Ian John-Lewis has been downgraded from an A Star Class to an A Class Official.
Lewis appeared before the Board to explain his card which proved to be a hot topic of debate after the undisputed super-lightweight title fight. Howard Foster awarded the fight to Catterall 113-112 while Victor Loughlin turned in the same verdict but for Taylor instead.
The majority of the boxing media and fans believed Catterall had done enough to go back to Chorley as undisputed 140lb champion. When the scorecards were revealed boxing and social media blew up with controversy.
In a statement released by the BBBofC today they said “Whilst the Board were satisfied that Mr. John-Lewis’ scorecard did not affect the overall result of the contest, the Stewards of the Board did have issue with his margin.
“As the regulatory body for the Sport in Great Britain the British Boxing Board of Control continue to improve and maintain the high quality and consistency in scoring by our licensed officials. As such, the Stewards of the Board have further decided that in addition to each A Star Class Official being evaluated after each bout, as per current procedure, they will now also be subject to a separate individual annual review.
“Finally, the British Boxing Board of Control have contacted the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA supporting Jack Catterall to be made mandatory challenger for each or all Championship Sanctioning Bodies.”