Stan repeats call for ref workshops

Respected veteran boxing ring official Stan Christodoulou has once again made a call that Boxing SA should make it a policy to have two workshops for ring officials per year.

The 74-year-old Christodoulou is the only referee in the world to have refereed in world title fights in all 17 of boxing's weight divisions. He first made the call in 2015 for BSA to host two workshops for ring officials every year.

There have been embarrassing situations where officials have performed so poorly inside the ring that fans booed them.

Some provincial managers do talk to them after each tournament but there is no one from the office of BSA who has taken it upon themselves to assist in this regard.

Christodoulou said there were good officials in the country and if groomed well, they could become better.

"Learning about boxing is an ongoing thing," said the man whose monumental achievements include being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York in 2004.

"Senior officials must be appointed to educate their new colleagues and I am willing to assist free of charge. I am not implying that there is a crisis here. I am saying it because I feel strongly that officials all over the world go through refresher courses.

"You know judging and refereeing a boxing match is not easy but with seminars once or twice a year, you upgrade your knowledge."

Christodoulou was the middleman last week when Ayanda "Greyhound" Nkosi registered the third defence of his WBA Pan African lightweight title with a unanimous points decision over Steven Bagwasi at Sibaya Casino in Durban.

Ellen "Tigress" Simwaka lost to Kirsten Fraser for the Commonwealth title in Scotland where the SA-based Malawian retired on her stool going for the sixth round from a body blow.