Roy Jones Jr Boxing CEO and co-founder Keith Veltre has come out swinging at the Professional Boxing Commission New Zealand (PBCNZ) after the controversial Joseph Parker 25-2 (19) versus Alexander ‘The Great’ Flores 17-2-1 (15) fight that was marred by low blows before the former WBO heavyweight champion was awarded victory by KO3.
Referee John Conway was widely criticised after the fight in Christchurch, New Zealand on December 15 for failing to penalise Parker for what appeared to be repeated blows below the belt.
“As excited as we were for Flores to face-off against Parker, we are equally disappointed with Parker’s dirty antics,” Veltre said in a media release this week.
“It was clear that the referee not only favoured Parker, but he also lacked enough knowledge to be officiating in the ring. Clearly, though, the New Zealand commission is just as inexperienced with high-calibre fights like this.
“If it wants to continue pursuing larger fights, then I would suggest it makes sure there is an equal playing field in New Zealand for all foreign fighters.”
The 28-year-old Flores from Rowland Heights, California has also voiced his displeasure with the officiating, saying that he wasn’t anticipating a dirty fight from Parker.
“Coming into this fight I was excited and prepared for the opportunity to fight Joseph Parker,” said Flores. “My vision of how it would play out was nothing that I could have ever expected. I heard Joe speaking in pre-fight interviews about hitting me in the balls or using his elbows, but I really thought he was talking about his experience with Dillian Whyte, and I never expected him to use those tactics with me.
“I have never been a dirty fighter, so, in my training for this fight, getting hit in the groin area or getting his forearm in my face was not something that ever crossed my mind.
“After reading articles it is clear to me that this was premeditated. When the fight started, the referee clearly stated that we were at belt-line and anything below that would be considered low.
“I noticed early on that he was hitting me low and I tried to get the referee’s attention. I don’t remember the exact number, but it was consistent whenever we would get inside and exchange.”
Flores rejected the notion that the low blows were immaterial to the result.
“I heard that some people were saying that the low blows were irrelevant, because that was not the shot that finished the fight, but that’s from people who’ve never been knocked down and tried to recover from a knockdown,” continued Flores.
“I never recovered from the low-blow knockdown. Joe quickly jumped on me with the shots needed to finish the fight.”
The Mexican-American wants to see a zero-tolerance approach to fouls to prevent situations like this occurring in the future.
“I heard Joseph admitted to the low blows and that should be enough to change this fight to a ‘no contest’,” said Flores. “His excuse that, ‘That’s up to the ref to see low blows and his job to fight’ is like saying it’s up to police to stop you from stealing.
“I have the support of a lot of wonderful people in New Zealand and I was met by people at the airport who apologized for how I was mistreated.
“The biggest problem with boxing is we need to develop a zero-tolerance policy regarding issues of this nature. It would be a good start by the New Zealand boxing commission to set a precedence by saying it us not going to tolerate cheating or deception.”
 after the controversial Joseph Parker 25-2 (19) versus Alexander ‘The Great’ Flores 17-2-1 (15) fight that was marred by low blows before the former WBO heavyweight champion was awarded victory by KO3.){kind=link}