By Alfredo Di Cesare
28 Aug 2024, 18:24 PM EDT
Panamanian referee Hector Afu went viral last weekend. During the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. John Gotti fight, the referee quit in the middle of the fight.
Panamanian referee Hector Afu received his trophy as the best referee in the world at the WBC convention. Well deserved. Congratulations. pic.twitter.com/J1ZocfeOsh
— Juan Carlos Tapia (@JCTapiaLMB) October 23, 2019
In the second round, with one minute left, Afu approached ‘The Money’ to give him some instructions. Basically, he was warning him about his repeated inappropriate blows to Gotti. However, Floyd got upset and started arguing with the judge. “Get out of the way, get out of the way!” he told him.
The answer did not seem to sit well with the Panamanian, who stopped the fight and went to talk to the judges at the table. All this, amid rude reproaches from Mayweather. He then left the ring.
The fight of discord last Saturday at the Mexico City Arena was the second of the night for the referee. He was also at the previous fight between David Picasso and Azat Hovhannisyan.
Héctor Humberto Afu Sánchez is a Panamanian referee with extensive experience. He has been a referee in boxing matches since 2003. He has been in charge of international fights such as Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton, George Kambosos vs. Devin Haney or Tommy Fury vs. Jake Paul.
Why won’t they punish him?
Following the controversy, the World Boxing Council (WBC) gave Afú a pat on the back and assured that he would not be sanctioned because it was an exhibition fight.
“Exhibition fights are not official, and therefore there are no judges and there is no winner, it is simply a sporting event to entertain fans,” they said.
In this regard, the WBC also confessed that this designation was totally planned due to the brawl that ended the first fight between Mayweather and Gotti in Miami.
“Following the very regrettable scandal that occurred when these two fighters faced each other last year in Miami, the Boxing Commission sought to prevent as much as possible another similar episode, and assigned a referee with world experience, the Panamanian Hector Afu,” they explained.
They also highlighted that the Panamanian has an impeccable career and record. “Héctor Afu is without a doubt one of the best referees in the world and he proved it by making an outstanding decision in a situation that occurred during an exhibition,” they said.
Continue reading:
· Panamanian referee resigned in the middle of Floyd Mayweather vs. Gotti fight
· Floyd Mayweather remains unbeaten after beating John Gotti III in exhibition fight
· Even the public fought: A strong brawl broke out in the middle of the fight between Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III