BOXING legend Bob Arum grabbed the microphone for an astonishing rant in the ring as he blasted the judges’ decisions to hand Josh Taylor the second defeat of his career.
And he vowed to “never, ever” let an American boxer to fight on British soil again in protest.
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Taylor stepped into the ring for his long-awaited rematch with Jack Catterall, more than two years on from his controversial split-decision win in Glasgow that denied El Gato a reign as undisputed world champion.
And Catterall made absolutely sure of the win this time around with a comprehensive victory.
The judges, this time, got it right on their cards.
Kieran McCann and Mark Bates both scored it 117-111, while Lee Every had it down as 116-113 – all in favour of the 30-year-old from Chorley.
But iconic promoter Arum – who has looked after the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury – was furious with the outcome.
He got inside the ropes and took hold of the microphone live on DAZN to deliver a memorable monologue – hijacking Catterall’s post-fight interview.
The Hall of Famer Top Rank boss, 92, moaned: “I saw the fight like everybody else.
“Those scorecards were a disgrace, were an absolute disgrace.
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“And I really feel sorry for Josh, I thought he won the fight.
“But those scorecards were ridiculous.
“And as a lesson, I will never ever allow an American fighter to come here with the British board [British Boxing Board of Control] scoring the fight.
“Those scores were ridiculous.”
That sparked a smattering of boos around the First Direct Arena as the crowd got behind the victorious Englishman.
And plenty of boxing fans on social media responded to Arum.
One said: “Someone take the mic off him š¤””
Another wrote: “Someone come collect their old man, heās been on the p*** in spoons since 10am.”
A third added: “Heās such a melon someone tuck him into bed.”
And a fourth commented: “Loooool, Bob is hilarious but where was this energy in the first fight in Scotland when they robbed Catterall, terrific rematch correct winner but scorecards were a little too wide.”
Plenty of others used the hilarious ‘old man yells at cloud’ Simpsons meme.
And some even joked Arum was having his “AJ moment” – referencing Anthony Joshua’s bizarre rant after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.
Unsurprisingly, Catterall’s promoter and Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn was far happier with the outcome.
He posted a photo of himself smiling in the background during Arum’s tirade.
Hearn captioned the image: “Call the cops heās off his chops!
“To be fair I agree with Bob, scores were too wide but no doubt the right man won! What a fight what a night!”
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Hearn then uploaded another pic, posing alongside his winning light-welterweight.
He added: “I love this game ā¤ļø Get up @jack_catt93 get up Chorley!”
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