Robin Dolpierre, president of the France-based National League for Professional Boxing and former referee under the World Boxing Council, has resigned from his post after controversially asserting that French heavyweight Tony Yoka should have been awarded a decision against Belgium’s Ryad Merhy in their 10-round bout that took place last Saturday in Paris based on the fact that Yoka was the A side.

Merhy, a big underdog and career cruiserweight, won narrowly on two of the scorecards: judges Christophe Beaurain and Ammar Sakraoui both had it 96-94 in favor of the Belgian. Vincent Dupas had it the other way, 96-94, in favor of Yoka. All three judges are French.

Yoka, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist for France, was long regarded as one of the top Gallic talents to emerge in the past decade, but the 31-year-old has mostly disappointed as a professional. The loss to Merhy was his third in a row, signaling to many that a once promising career could now be on the rocks.

Dolpierre’s resignation was accepted by Dominique Nato, the president of the Federation Francaise de Boxe (FFBOXE), the body which governs amateur and professional boxing in France.

Dolpierre found himself in the hot seat after he told L’Equipe, a French newspaper, that the French judges for the Yoka vs. Merhy contest should have “helped out” Yoka because he was the hometown fighter—an unofficial custom that other countries, Dolpierre insisted, carried out with regularity. In a statement, Nato said his organization is in “total opposition” to Dolpierre’s claims.

“Dupas was right (in his scorecard),” Dolpierre said. “Yoka needed help, but his head was pushed under water. How can he come back after three defeats? In England, in a similar fight, the local boxer would have won. When I saw Yoka almost in tears, after they announced the result, that hurt my heart. We could have at least given him a draw.

“Of course, he barely lost. I know he didn’t do much, that he worked on just one move. But in France, that’s worth a draw. Besides, when the announcer gave the scorecards, Merhy himself was surprised that he won. I’ve seen so many French fighters get robbed fighting abroad, and it doesn’t bother anyone. But here, we’re not capable of helping out a fighter. We’re afraid of the public, above all. I stand by what I say.

“You think that if the promoter of Yoka had been Michel Acariès (the most powerful French promoter between 1980 and 2010) and not Jerome Abiteboul, that two judges would have given the victory to Merhy? We’ve done more harm to boxing than if we had given the win [to Yoka].”

Dolpierre’s interview will do little to improve the reputation of boxing as a perpetually corrupt racket, especially given that Dolpierre is not a bystander but an active player in the sport who has officiated fights for over two decades. His last assignment was in May of last year.

“I agree that the judges aren’t there to help [fighters],” Dolpierre continued. “But Yoka will be a great champion someday, even if I don’t know when. Today he needed help. A defeat would have changed nothing for the Belgian, who is going to go back down to cruiserweight because he himself said he’s not a true heavyweight. So what was the point of knocking out Yoka?”

Sean Nam is the author of .