Scandal at the Boxing World Cup: Armenian Boxing Federation accuses biased judging

The Armenian Boxing Federation issued a strong statement following the bouts at the World Cup organized by World Boxing. The official message emphasized that the judging at the tournament was “shameful” and lacked logic, directly affecting the results of Armenian athletes.

Controversial fight of Artur Bazeyan

Particular dissatisfaction was caused by the bout between Armenian boxer Artur Bazeyan and the Paris Olympic silver medalist representing Kyrgyzstan, Munarbek Uulu.

According to the federation:

• In the first round, Bazeyan won convincingly with a score of 5:0;
• In the second round, judges awarded the same score in favor of his opponent;
• In the third round, the Armenian boxer actively attacked and scored points.

The key moment occurred after a clash that resulted in a cut above the opponent’s eyebrow. The referee unexpectedly stopped the fight despite the absence of serious medical necessity. At the same time, as stated in the report, Bazeyan still held the advantage, but the victory was awarded to the Kyrgyz boxer — judges based their decision on the scores at the moment the fight was stopped, i.e., in the middle of the third round.

Questions over judging in Ararat Harutyunyan’s fight

The federation also considers the scoring of Ararat Harutyunyan’s bout against Dominican Republic representative Ricardo Cuello highly controversial.

It is reported that:

• Harutyunyan had a clear advantage in the second and third rounds;
• His opponent received a warning from the referee;
• Despite this, Cuello was declared the winner.

Reaction of the Armenian Federation

The Armenian Boxing Federation stated that what happened is yet another striking example of unfair judging. In their view, the judges’ decisions led to the elimination of two of Armenia’s strongest boxers from the tournament.

The organization expects a response from international bodies and calls for attention to the quality of judging at tournaments held under the auspices of World Boxing.