Armed men make ref. alter verdict

Press, 5 August 1976, Page 30

Armed men make ref. alter verdict

NZPA-Reuter Los An * e,ej An American boxing referee said yesterday that he was forced to change his verdict in a super-bantam-weight championship fight in Pusan, South Korea, on Sunday in order to save my life.”

Larry Rozadilla, a Los Angeles referee who was asked by the World Boxing Council to judge the bout as a neutral party, at first raised the hand of the champion, Rigoberto Riasco, of Panama, as winner of the 15-round title bout. But an hour later, Rozadilla issued a statement reversing his decision and declaring the challenger, Yum Dong-kyun, of South Korea, the winner, saying: “I made a mistake in putting down my scores. “It was raining and the judges’ papers were all wet and I placed the scores in the wrong places. The Korean is the winner. However, at Los Angeles Airport, Mr Rozadilla told reporters that less than an hour after naming Riasco as the winner, four or five s t r o n g-arm “gangsters” packing concealed guns dragged the referee from his dressing room back into the ring and forced him to sign the statement saying he had erred in his decision. Mr Rozadilla said his assailants held him up by his arms as they returned to the ring. “I was cool outside, because I knew what was hap-

i pening,” said Mr Rozadilla. > “I didn’t panic. I kept my ; head. I talked good and > wrote good and smiled to < t put up a good front. "But inside I was feeling f fear that I wouldn’t see my : family, my wife and two children, again. If I hadn’t • signed the statement, I • would have been killed and ■ so would Riasco.” , i “This I did Under duress , and coercion and in com- : plete fear of bodily injury to i myself and the others,” Mr Rozadilla said. “The original : scorecard declaring Riasco : the winner in the W.B.C. 1 title fight was correctly • stated as 145-143, thus Rigoberto Riasco won and re- ; tained his title.” I The 11-year veteran refi eree said he did not make a i statement earlier because of : repeated threats to his life ’ that followed him from the > baseball field ring, to his : hotel, and finally to the air- < ! port. i “Because the attempts to I inflict bodily harm on me, which included breaking i i windows of my car, blocking r our exit from the stadium, > and a bomb threat in my < hotel, I refrained from any ■ statement until my safe re- ■ turn to the United States.” 1

Mr Rozadilla said hii assailants had earlier trie< to "woo” him by wining am dining him before the fight. “This is without a doub the worst case of in timidation in my career it boxing," he said. “There wa no security. I am recom mending that no Amencai or Latin American boxe ever fight in Korea again.” The World Boxing Counci has ordered a “thorough in vestigation’’ into Mr Roza dilla’s allegations. It said that it would expo anybody guilty of mis conduct and reverse thi official verdict if necessary. "A thorough investigator will be made into th< affairs,” the W.B.C. said in • statement. “If anything ir regular is found, the guilt; will be expelled from profes sional boxing, as far as then relation with the W.B.C. ii concerned. “Furthermore the neces sary measures will be taker respecting the fight." How ever, for the time being th< W.B.C. is recognising Dong kyun as the division’s new champion. Riasco has been relegatec to No 2 challenger, behinc Rafael Herrera, of Mexico.