DeGuardia hopes WBO will step in and protect integrity of title

“Almost universally, the press, HBO commentators, Harold Lederman and fans had Arnaoutis winning the fight.”

Promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing agrees with the press and with the most of the fans in attendance that the official decision in the WBO Light Welterweight Championship fight between his fighter, "Mighty" Mike Arnaoutis, and Colombian Ricardo Torres was questionable, and, like many others, is hoping the WBO will “do the just thing” by ordering a rematch between the two fighters and/or by keeping Arnaoutis in the #1 ranked position in their ratings.

“There’s no question that this decision was widely unpopular, and we hope the WBO will recognize that, and order the rematch,” said DeGuardia of the split decision that gave the vacant championship to Torres on Saturday night.

Fighting on the undercard of the Erik Morales vs. Manny Pacquiao III pay-per-view event at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Arnaoutis, now 17-1-1 with 9 KOs, appeared to control the majority of the bout with his superior skills, even dropping Torres in the seventh round.

“The fans and most of the press on hand agreed with judge Jerry Roth, who favored Arnaoutis 114-113 in the bout, and were surprised the other judges awarded the win to Torres,” said DeGuardia. (Judge Harry Davis scored it 114-113, and astonishingly, Judge Adelaide Byrd scored the fight 116-111 in favor of Torres).

DeGuardia says, overall, he’s pleased with the poise and determination his fighter showed against Torres and, regardless of the outcome, says they are looking at it as a learning experience. “We’re proud of the way Mike handled himself in there and we know he’ll be a Champion soon. This was a disappointing, temporary setback, but nonetheless, Mike showed he belongs among the best of one of boxing’s strongest divisions.”

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