Boxing officials suspend all referees and judges from 2016 Olympics

If you thought some of the boxing decisions from the recent 2016 Summer Olympics were questionable, the sport’s international federation shares your concern.

International Boxing Assn. (AIBA) officials announced Thursday that they would sideline all 36 referees and judges from that competition until an investigation is completed.

The AIBA stated that — following “a small number of decisions under debate” — it will consider changes to its refereeing and judging procedures.

“Boxing was in the spotlight for positive reasons, but occasionally also for the wrong ones,” AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu said of the Rio de Janeiro Games.

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Bouts involving Irish bantamweight Michael Conlan and Kazakh heavyweight Vassiliy Levit were particularly controversial. Both lost decisions to Russian fighters despite appearing to dominate the action.

AIBA officials said the so-called 10-point must system would remain in place for scoring bouts, but there could be modifications to the way referees and judges are certified and evaluated.

‘The experience and knowledge required to officiate a boxing match takes years to accumulate, and moving forward it is essential that the reputation of the [referees and judges] is restored,” the federation stated. “The judging system can never become a scapegoat for boxers and coaches who perform disappointingly in the ring and display inappropriate behavior or comments to media.”

david.wharton@latimes.com

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