By James Slater: Yesterday evening’s SKY Sports News broadcast was practically dominated by the ongoing Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson controversy, which took a new twist when footage was revealed of a “mystery man” seen at ringside seemingly talking to and maybe even influencing official Michael Welsh.
Khan has been bitter about his upset points loss ever since Dec. 10th, and the new video evidence certainly gives the former WBA/IBF 140-pound champ a case when it comes to his demand for an instant return. The “mystery man” had no right to be where he was, talking to a scoring official, and it has only just come to light who the man actually is.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, in speaking to SKY Sports News, had the following to say:
“His name is Mustafa Ameen and the IBF have confirmed to us his name, and they have confirmed to us that he is involved in an official capacity with the IBF,” Schaefer said, clearing up the “mystery man” issue. “However, he was not in Washington in an official IBF capacity, but the IBF asked the Washington commission to issue him a credential so that he could attend the fight.
“We have been informed today by the WBA that they will order an immediate rematch. We will get a written confirmation by next Tuesday. That means that no fighter can take an interim fight, that the next fight for Peterson would be a rematch. We hope the IBF will follow suite because that’s the least that they can do.”
So, did Ameen influence the actual scoring of the fight? Will the International Boxing Federation (IBF) go along with the WBA and also order ain instant rematch? One of the most controversial title fights of recent years, Khan-Peterson has certainly generated a lot of negativity, with many fans feeling the sport is as corrupt as ever. Hopefully, a rematch will happen and a clear, fair winner will be found.
Meanwhile, Schafer says he hopes the Dec. 10th win for Peterson will be changed to a No-Contest.
Peterson had been hoping to land the date as superstar Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent. The ruling set to be given by the WBA will likely put an end to this fight unless Peterson is willing to give up his WBA belt and ignore orders for an instant return.
As for Mustafa Ameen, it remains to be seen if he will face any punishment for his strange ringside activity. Nobody is supposed to speak to a scoring official during a fight, and a supposed IBF official is certainly not supposed to celebrate with the winning fighter after the contest, as Ameen did with the Peterson camp as soon as victory was announced (after close to a ten minute delay).
Boxing can do without these black eyes. Hopefully nothing like this happens again.