Bulgarian boxing coach and former Olympic champion Petar Lesov has been barred from ringside coaching at the ongoing Women’s World Championship on Monday, 19 November, even as his ward Stanimara Petrova accused judges of "corruption" after a hard-fought pre-quarterfinal loss to India's Sonia Chahal (57kg) in New Delhi.
On a dramatic day, a judging controversy hit the marquee event after former gold-medallist Petrova pointed a finger at the officials and her coach threw a bottle inside the ring after the bout to protest the result.
The 27-year-old Bulgarian, who was a bantamweight (54kg) gold-medallist from the 2014 edition of the event, went down in a split 2-3 verdict to the 21-year-old local hope.
“It is corruption by the judges. It is not a fair result,” an agitated Petrova told reporters after the bout.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA), after a review of the incident by its technical delegate, barred Lesov from ringside for the remainder of the tournament, which concludes on 24 November.
The AIBA has decided to remove the accreditation, and therefore the right to be in the corner, from the coach of the Bulgarian delegation Petar Yosifov Lesov due to his unacceptable behavior.AIBA Statement
Lesov won the flyweight gold medal in the 1980 Olympics and has been a coach for nearly three decades.
“The International Boxing Association does not tolerate, in any circumstances, such behavior against the AIBA values and AIBA Code of Conduct, especially being a coach.
“The incident will be forwarded to the Disciplinary Commission for further review,” AIBA added.
Judging at boxing events has been a major concern for AIBA, which has even been warned by the International Olympic Committee on the issue.
In fact, the IOC has made improving the quality of judging one of the goals for AIBA to retain boxing's Olympic status heading into the 2020 Tokyo Games.
At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Irish star Michael Conlan's expletive-laden takedown of the judging standards after a controversial semifinal loss became a catalyst for the then AIBA administration to launch an inquiry and admit lapses.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)