Irregularities mar Cuello’s bid

MANILA, Philippines - There were harrowing irregularities that marked Denver Cuello’s recent failure to wrest the WBC minimumweight crown from Chinese champion Xiong Zhao Zhong at the World Trade Center in Dubai and the Filipino fighter’s manager Aljoe Jaro has appealed to WBC executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman to investigate the dubious circumstances surrounding the event.

Jaro enumerated the irregularities in a litany of woes. First, WBC supervisor Patrick Cusick of Australia was nowhere to be found after the fight and since Dubai has no boxing commission, nobody bothered to take dope tests. Second, Cusick’s disappearance left Jaro no choice but to agree to leave the country without payment when under international rules, fighters are guaranteed to receive their full purses immediately after the bout. Third, the ringside physician and referee Hector Aful of Panama seemed to conspire in allowing the fight to continue despite blood smearing Cuello’s face from a cut inflicted by an accidental headbutt in the ninth round. A stoppage would’ve thrown the outcome into the judges’ hands and at that point, it appeared that Cuello was ahead. Fourth, Zhong received at least four warnings from Aful for headbutting but no point was deducted until an ugly gash on Cuello’s right temple spewed crimson. And fifth, the organizing KO Promotions announced the cancellation of the card four hours before the start of the undercard because of poor ticket sales but the Chinese camp came to the rescue, putting up reportedly $60,000 to cover expenses including fees for fight officials.

To make matters worse, Cuello showed up for the fight with a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Two weeks before the bout, Cuello’s injury was confirmed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Agripino Beng Javier of the Makati Medical Center. Dr. Javier advised Cuello to withdraw from the fight but the challenger insisted on going through with it as he waited three years for the crack at the world crown. Against Dr. Javier’s advice, Cuello pleaded to Jaro not to cancel his shot. Jaro kept the injury secret but a source said it was leaked to the Zhong camp by a Filipino who witnessed Cuello spar one-armed at businessman Hermie Esguerra’s gym in Lipa. The Filipino has business connections with Zhong’s manager Lu Gang. During the fight, Zhong’s Filipino cornerman Lito Jalnaiz was shown on TV motioning to the Chinese to target Cuello’s injured right shoulder.

Cuello initially complained of pain in his right shoulder after outpointing Ivan Meneses in Mexico last September. He was advised to undergo therapy but only reported for a few sessions because of the distance between his home in Binangonan and the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex at Loyola Heights. Last April, Cuello eked out a majority 10-round decision over Takashi Onishige in Osaka and in the process, tore his rotator cuff. But the chance to battle Zhong for the world title was something he refused to pass up with or without an injury.

Jaro offered the Zhong camp an $80,000 purse to stake his title against Cuello in Manila but was rebuffed. Zhong insisted to fight on neutral grounds and accepted KO Promotions’ bid of $60,000 to battle Cuello in Dubai. Cuello was to be paid $40,000. A month before the bout, KO Promotions informed Jaro that Cuello’s purse would be sliced to $24,000 or 40 percent of Zhong’s purse when the original formula was 40 percent of the total purse of $100,000. Jaro said he agreed because Cuello would’ve been heartbroken if the fight went out the window because of a fee dispute.

KO Promotions couldn’t pay Cuello a single cent after the fight and he left Dubai holding an empty bag. The promise was to remit installments of $2,500 every other day starting last Monday. Jaro said KO Promotions promised to cover the entire amount by July 27. As of last Friday, two installments had been deposited in Cuello’s bank account.

Jaro said neither Zhong nor Cuello was tested for drugs before or after the fight, raising doubts on the legitimacy of the fight under WBC rules. His lawyer Ricky Flores has filed a formal complaint with the WBC. “Our appeal is if Zhong is allowed to make another defense, the winner of his next fight must be ordered to face Denver,” said Jaro. “We would like a rematch but since Denver is scheduled to undergo surgery in his right shoulder, it might take six to seven months to recover.”

Jaro said after the fifth round, he suggested for Cuello to give up. But Cuello, whose right shoulder injury was aggravated by a push to the canvas in the second round, refused to surrender. At the end of four rounds, Cuello was ahead on the three judges scorecards, 39-36 twice and 38-37, on the strength of a knockdown in the opening stanza. Although Zhong was slapped a point deduction in the ninth for a headbutt and suffered a knockdown, he won via a majority decision. Displaying a lack of boxing appreciation, ring announcer Jeff Price incorrectly called it a split decision. English judge John Keane saw it 113-all while Spanish judge Sergio Izoso had it 113-110 and Russian judge Roman Filimonov 115-112, both for Zhong.