"There is no need of competing": Andiego laments controversial call in IBA World Championships defeat
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 14.03.25. | 21:10
The 38-year-old believes the referee ruled in favor of her Chinese opponent all through the quarter-final contest
Kenyan light-heavyweight Elizabeth Andiego has said she felt the referees “were trying to bring me down because I was winning” following her disappointing quarter-final exit from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia.
Andiego, 38, was seeking to become the first Kenyan to record a win in this year’s championships, only to suffer a contentious second round stoppage from China’s Xiaomeng Wang.
The decision came after Estonian referee Moris Punho gave Andiego a 8-second standing count, before shockingly halting the contest despite the Kenyan looking ready to go on with the fight.
The incident immediately sparked angry reactions from the Kenyan corner, with Hit Squad coach Benjamin Musa being heard over the live footage saying: “Why? Why? No, that is bad!”
Speaking to Boxingnewsonline after the fight, Andiego lambasted the officiating, also questioning why she had her points deducted in the opening round.
“My opponent was holding my arm and when I was trying to move, the referee was warning me,” the multiple African Championships silver medalist said. “He then deducted a point that wasn’t necessary. It’s demoralising. If this is what they call fair play, then there’s no need of competing. I felt like they were trying to bring me down because I was winning.”
Assistant coach David Munuhe meanwhile said IBA needed to “retrain their officials” adding that the judges' scores after the first round had not been revealed to them.
“The IBA is talking about fair play - was that really fair play?” he quipped. “What the IBA have to do now is retrain their officials. There’s a chance we will join World Boxing because if we’re not liked here, we go to the next town.”
World Boxing, an international sports organization regulating the sport, was last month granted provisional recognition by the IOC, and currently consists of 84 countries.
Kenya, allied to IBA, could become the ninth country to join World Boxing, should their statements come true.
And while IBA countered the Kenyan accusations with a statement confirming that the referee’s stoppage was “absolutely correct,” Nation Sport reported that ringside observers argued that pro-China refereeing decisions were attempts at luring the Asian giants back to their side in the Olympic war.
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