Whether it was the momentum shifts in the Callum Smith-Joshua Buatsi thriller, the cinematic collapse of Martin Bakole, or the incredible level of skill on display between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, the ‘Last Crescendo’ card provided plenty of memorable moments.
Yet the somewhat tentative performance of Hamzah Sheeraz against WBC middleweight belt-holder Carlos Adames left some observers puzzled and frustrated, not least Turki Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and a crucial cog in the matchmaking wheel for the event.
Footage emerged on social media, which soon went viral, of Alalshikh making his way to the Englishman’s corner where he then attempted to tell the boxer he was down by two points.
“Two points,” he said with one hand on the ring apron and the other holding up two fingers, “You’re losing, two points… You must [indecipherable] him. You’re losing, two points.”
Alalshikh, with increasing urgency, then relays the same information to a member of Sheeraz’s corner team. “He must [indecipherable] him. Two points. Tell him. Two points. Tell him. Tell him!”
That level of interference from a figure frequently described as the most influential in boxing, and therefore someone who should remain impartial to avoid any suggestion of skulduggery, can be deemed as overstepping the mark. It is reasonable to conclude from the exchange that Alalshikh wanted victory only for Sheeraz, an ambassador for Riyadh Season.
The notion that he knew the score, however, is likely a falsehood. Robert Smith was out in Saudi Arabia in his role as general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, the commissioners of the event, and told BoxingScene: “He didn’t come anywhere near the scoring table so I simply can’t see how he could have known what the scores were. Even if he did approach the scoring table he would have been moved on.
“There are also three scores, not one, and Sheeraz wouldn’t have been two points down on all three scorecards.
“Another factor to consider is the amount of time he would have had to do that between rounds. The judges’ cards are collected at the end of each round and the scores are then separately transferred to the running totals. That process takes most of the minute break, it’s nonsensical to suggest that he would have been able to see the score without being noticed and then have time to relay his findings to Sheeraz.”
“Either he believed that Sheeraz was losing and conveyed that opinion – or he’d seen the score on one of the television broadcasts and was relaying that.”
Sources close to the action have claimed that Alalshikh had access to the DAZN coverage via a monitor in front of his seat. However, upon reviewing the broadcast, Alalshikh can be seen to leave his seat with 30 seconds remaining in the 10th round before he arrives at Sheeraz’s corner at the start of the interval before the 11th. At that moment, with two rounds to go, DAZN’s Chris Mannix had Adames up by four points.
BoxingScene understands that Alalshikh’s explanation of the incident is that he was offering his own opinion on who was winning the fight and, in turn, attempting to inject some urgency into Sheeraz’s performance. After all, Alalshikh was surely keen for his event to live up to the hype that it was the best in boxing history. The bout between Adames and Sheeraz was certainly lacking the drama that occurred in the bouts that both preceded and followed it. He can be seen on his feet in round 11, visibly unhappy with the action – or lack of.
“I didn’t notice the incident at the time,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told BoxingScene. “I don’t think he knew the scores but was instead expressing his opinion that Sheeraz was behind. The scores are handled by the BBBoC and the WBC supervisor. I was just behind them and never saw anyone approaching to see or inquire about the scores.”
Whatever the truth, neither Sulaiman nor Smith saw anything untoward in Alalshikh’s actions.
“Every fight I see promoters and managers scream, cheer and instruct their fighters,” said Sulaiman.
“Promoters and managers have always told their fighters they’re behind or they need to win the next round,” added Smith. “Mickey Duff used to do it all the time and, on Saturday, Frank [Warren] himself told Sheeraz he needed to win the next round. It is not unusual.”
The incident likely garnered more attention due to the contest, predominantly controlled by Adames, then being ruled a controversial draw. Italy’s Guido Cavalleri, to everyone’s surprise, scored the contest 115-114 in Sheeraz’s favor while Mexico’s Omar Mintun Snr had the fighters level at 114-114. America’s Barry Lindenman seemed to get it about right as he scored it 118-110 for Adames.
Judging by those totals, and throwing in some basic mathematics, the only score that could feasibly have Sheeraz down by two points after 10 rounds was Mintun Snr’s. Again, any evidence of Alalshikh being privy to the scores is largely non-existent.
At the time of this writing there are no plans to investigate any further. Though Smith felt the draw was the wrong decision, Sulaiman said: “The fight was very close in my opinion, but Adames didn’t lose. I am happy he came out with the belt.”
Happier than Alalshikh appeared to be, that’s for sure.