By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP)—Michael Hunter Jr. fought his way back into the USA boxing national championships in a room, not a ring.
Hunter, who was disqualified from his bout the day before for using too much gauze on his hands, hired a lawyer to plead his case to an arbitration panel Thursday.
After nearly five hours, the arbitrators ruled in his favor, restoring the super heavyweight into the semifinals of the championships.
Due to the delay, the super heavyweight bouts were moved to Friday night. Hunter will face J’Von Wallace, while Javier Torres takes on Trevor Bryan.
The dispute started soon after Hunter beat Lenroy Thompson 8-7 in a quarterfinal match Wednesday, earning the decisive final point on a punch with 2 seconds remaining in the last round.
However, a protest was filed over how much gauze Hunter used to wrap his hands.
The grievance committee rendered a verdict to disqualify Hunter, giving his spot to Thompson.
But on Thursday, the ruling was overturned.
“It was a long process and I think each party had a good point of view,” Hunter said. “But I think the right thing happened.”
So does USA Boxing CEO Jim Millman.
“Our philosophy as an organization is to get it right and part of the getting it right is to go through a process like today,” Millman said. “We are satisfied with the decision and we wish Michael all the best going forward.”
Hunter won the national championship title in 2007 and followed that up by earning a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. He missed out on going to Beijing, though, after falling in international qualifying.
Hunter said the controversy centered on the length of his gauze. Under the rules, no more than 15 yards are allowed per hand. Hunter said his gauze measured 19 yards, although he pointed out that it got stretched from removal.
The reversal surprised him.
“To me, it wasn’t looking too good in there,” he said of the discussions in the room. “I thought they had more points. … But it went in my favor.”
Hunter said he briefly spoke to Thompson after the decision.
“He told me congratulations,” Hunter said. “I’ve got to crush him (Wallace) tomorrow.”
DENVER (AP)—Michael Hunter Jr. fought his way back into the USA boxing national championships in a room, not a ring.
Hunter, who was disqualified from his bout the day before for using too much gauze on his hands, hired a lawyer to plead his case to an arbitration panel Thursday.
After nearly five hours, the arbitrators ruled in his favor, restoring the super heavyweight into the semifinals of the championships.Due to the delay, the super heavyweight bouts were moved to Friday night. Hunter will face J’Von Wallace, while Javier Torres takes on Trevor Bryan.
The dispute started soon after Hunter beat Lenroy Thompson 8-7 in a quarterfinal match Wednesday, earning the decisive final point on a punch with 2 seconds remaining in the last round.
However, a protest was filed over how much gauze Hunter used to wrap his hands.
The grievance committee rendered a verdict to disqualify Hunter, giving his spot to Thompson.
But on Thursday, the ruling was overturned.
“It was a long process and I think each party had a good point of view,” Hunter said. “But I think the right thing happened.”
So does USA Boxing CEO Jim Millman.
“Our philosophy as an organization is to get it right and part of the getting it right is to go through a process like today,” Millman said. “We are satisfied with the decision and we wish Michael all the best going forward.”
Hunter won the national championship title in 2007 and followed that up by earning a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. He missed out on going to Beijing, though, after falling in international qualifying.
Hunter said the controversy centered on the length of his gauze. Under the rules, no more than 15 yards are allowed per hand. Hunter said his gauze measured 19 yards, although he pointed out that it got stretched from removal.
The reversal surprised him.
“To me, it wasn’t looking too good in there,” he said of the discussions in the room. “I thought they had more points. … But it went in my favor.”
Hunter said he briefly spoke to Thompson after the decision.
“He told me congratulations,” Hunter said. “I’ve got to crush him (Wallace) tomorrow.”
No comments:
Post a Comment