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By Scott Shaffer
11/05/2007
Judge Samuel Conde sticks with his homeboy; robs Singwangcha
Prawet Singwangcha D12 Jose Cotto... Poor Prawet Singwangcha, a Thai fighter appeared to dominate Jose Cotto in a lightweight title bout staged in Cotto's Puerto Rican home, but some bad judging prevented him from becoming one of the very few Thai fighters to earn a significant win on this continent. Singwangcha will return home knowing two judges, Guy Jutras and Samuel Conde unjustly deprived him of a WBA title, and therefore a chance to earn some real money in his next fight. Cotto was distracted, getting into an argument with his cornerman and refusing to sit down during one break, which led to one of the cornermen beinbg removed. When the final bell sounded, Singwangcha celebrated his performance while Cotto shook his head in disgust, not even bothering to raise his hands. The Puerto Rican fans cheered loudly for Singwangcha, who won them over with both his superior effort and skill. Cotto landed some good shots throughout the bout, but for the most part, Singwangcha stalked Cotto and scored with rapid combinations every time he got close. One judge scored it 117-111, but Jutras and Conde turned in 114-114 cards, leading to a majority draw, which begs the question of why a Puerto Rican was allowed to judge a world title fight between a Thai and a Boricua. Thai fighters regularly get screwed in the ratings and nearly always fight for world titles on enemy soil, but this one was particularly tough to accept even by boxing standards. Now its up to the WBA to give Singwangcha a measure of justice, but short of changing the decision, Singwangcha is a victim. It should be noted that the title at stake, the WBA's 135-pound regular title is devoid of any real significance, what with Joel Casamayor being the true world champion with WBO/WBA super champion Juan Diaz close behind, but the belt would have had tremendous meaning in Asia, where 135-pound titleholders are rare. source: solo boxeo on telefutura
