Weighing In On Referee Celestino Ruiz and Szpilka-Mollo Controversy
By Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media Correspondent
Chicago, Illinois (February 4th, 2013)–After southpaw Artur Szpilka of Poland cut up an aging Mike Mollo with head butts and elbows in the ring in UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois, on ESPN Friday night fights, my big question is why wasn’t Szpilka disqualified in his bout against Chicago’s Mollo by referee Celestino Ruiz, accidental contact or not? Mollo, cut badly on the eyes and bleeding the ring bloody, knocked down Szpilka twice during the bout, but was practically blind from blood in his eyes when he got knocked by Szpilka out in the sixth round. The circumstance of a fighter being allowed to fight when clearly blind from blood coming from cuts should never be allowed to happen.
The bout should have been ruled a technical draw within four rounds, or have gone to the scorecards after that. Ruiz also took away a ridiculous point from Mollo for a supposed push to the canvas of Szpilka. At least one declared Mollo ‘push’ of Szpilka to the canvas was actually a Mollo knockdown. However, the first round knockdown looked like Mollo landing a left hook to Szpilka’s body as Szpilka was in the process of slipping to the canvas, you be the judge. Still, it seemed most ironic referee Ruiz would yell at Mollo “Keep it clean!” when it was Szpilka who landed the elbow to Mollo’s face without a penalty or disqualification loss.
Mike Mollo versus Artur Szpilka Full Heavyweight Bout Courtesy SportPoland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCOBJ42lc0g
Mollo, 33, rusty, overweight and out of shape, who has not won a fight since March 2010 when he defeated Billy Zumbrun in eight rounds, and who last fought an eigh round draw in August 2010 against Gary Gomez, has won only one bout in his last five bouts since 2008, and has been reduced to gatekeeper status with this loss. Contractual disputes with Boxing 360 kept Mollo out of the ring, including a planned bout with Chris Arreola. Ultimately contractual and financial considerations forced Mike Mollo back into the ring without any tune up bouts.
The knockdowns by Mollo proved Szpilka is not that good, and if Mollo had been given tune up bouts and sufficient time to work his way back to contender status, Szpilka would have been exposed. According to Mollo, Szpilka is never going to accomplish anything against the Klitschkos, and given the recent performance of Mariusz Wach of Poland against Wladimir Klitschko in November 2012 for the WBA-WBA-IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles, Mollo has got it right. The Kitschkos aren’t worried about Poland’s Szpilka, a former WBC Baltic and WBC Youth titleholder, if he does get a title shot. Such a title bout would not last long.
In June of 2012, onetime heavyweight contender Jameel McCline broke Szpilka’s jaw in the sixth round, trying for a knockout as he could not and did not get the ten round decision against Szpilka in Poland.
Veteran referee Celestino Ruiz has refereed 150 professional bouts in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Missouri since his debut in October 2007 in a bout with future International Boxing Federation Welterweight champion Devon Alexander.
In November 2012, Ruiz refereed the Marco Huck versus First Arslan World Boxing Organization World Cruiserweight title bout at Gerry Weber Stadium in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, which Huck won by 12 round decision. Ruiz also refereed the late light middleweight Omar Henry’s first round technical stoppage of Chris Tyler in Saint Charles, Missouri in June 2011. Omar Henry died last week.
Ruiz clearly did not do the best job of handling the Szpilka and Mollo during the bout, as the close contact foul repeated itself, and Szpilka, fighting in front of cheering Polish-American fans, was not penalized for either infraction. After Mollo was fouled twice, Ruiz should have gone to the scorecards after Szpilka’s elbow to Mollo’s face did more blood and eye damage than the initial head butt which started the blood fest. Ruiz may be the best Chicago has to offer, but the Illinois Department of Finance and Financial Regulation would have done itself better bringing in an Arthur Mercante Jr., Steve Smoger, Ricardo Vera, Joe Cortez, Ron Lipton or somebody of a higher level refereeing background when dealing with main event heavyweight or other boxers.
Mollo, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, falls to 20-4-1 with 12 knockouts. Szpilka, now 13-0, ten knockouts, Wieliczka, Poland, is scheduled to fight next against Krzysztof Zimnoch, a 13-0-1 heavyweight out of Bialystok, Poland, at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, on February 23, 2013, a fight which seems inevitable to be postponed after Szpilka’s performance against Mollo.
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COMMENTS
English
Quit whining about that fight! Szpilka won fair and square and you just deal with it! WHAAAAA!!! WHAAAAA!!! WHAAAAAA!!!!! loser.