Although Amir Khan’s fifth-round technical decision victory against Marco Antonio Barrera in March 2009 is, by far, the biggest win of his career, Barrera’s promoter is crying foul. And Don King might have a point.
In e-mails sent to the international press, King claims Khan won a “tainted victory” against Barrera because the Mexican fighter sustained a deep cut in the first round and, thus, the referee should have stopped the match earlier and ruled it a no contest.
“Amir Khan is in possession of a tainted victory,” King said in a statement. “The referee and doctor should have stopped the fight immediately after that incredible, accidental clash of heads. That they allowed the fight to continue with Barrera competing at a huge disadvantage goes against everything that’s designed to protect the health and safety of boxers, the good of the sport and uphold the traditions emanating from the Marquis of Queensbury rules.”
Marco Antonio Barrera’s Cut
The cut sustained by Barrera that required 33 stitches was nasty and turned his face crimson by the end of each round. It occurred in the first round when the two clashed heads, and Barrera emerged with a deep wound on his temple. Almost immediately, the blood trickled into Barrera’s left eye, causing him a major distraction.
Referee Dave Parris waited until the fourth round before asking the ringside physician to examine the cut. In the next round, the fight was waved off, sending the fight to the scorecards – which were lopsided in favor of Khan. If the fight had been stopped before the end of the fourth round, it would have been ruled a no contest.
But the ringside announcers for Britain’s Sky Box Office pay-per-view telecast were apt in their descriptions of Barrera’s disadvantage.
“I don’t know that any cut man can stop that,” Sky Box Office analyst Jim Watt said. “I mean that’s like something you would expect in a road accident. That’s horrendous. It’s long, and it’s deep. You saw the impact when the heads clashed. That’s as bad a clash of heads as I have seen in all my years in boxing and the damage, I don’t reckon they can do anything with that.”
Khan Takes Advantage of Barrera
Khan easily won the fight on the scorecards, but the outcome left Barrera wondering what would have happened if he could have boxed with two healthy eyes.
“If I’d have had both my eyes the fight wouldn’t have ended this way,” Barrera said in a statement. “I couldn’t see the guy from the first round, the blood was in my eye and I just couldn’t see with it.”
Robert Smith, the general secretary for the British Boxing Board of Control, said nothing was mentioned by Barrera’s camp after the fight.
“I was in the dressing room after the fight, and nobody said anything at all about the stoppage,” he told the Guardian newspaper. “Barrera had no problem about it, the two supervisors had no problem with it. King said nothing. If anybody was going to say anything about the stoppage it would have been then.”
Khan’s Next Opponent
Khan originally was supposed to help prepare Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming fight with Ricky Hatton, but Khan also suffered a small cut and had to cancel his sparring sessions. While he heals, Khan has a few options.
He could face Barrera in a rematch, or, once again, he could meet Breidis Prescott, who gave Khan his only loss when he knocked him out in the first round in September 2008.
But it’s clear what King wants.
“Knowing the rules of the sport originated in England and are designed to create a level playing field to protect boxers from fighting at a disadvantage after an accident, the doctor’s decision to wait until the fourth round for a doctor’s inspection and the subsequent stoppage the following round certainly raises needless questions and suspicions,” King said. “Barrera needed a seeing-eye dog to make it back to his corner from the first round but the officials let it continue.”
