Joseph Parker has revealed referee Giuseppe Quartarone could not English, but Anthony Joshua has claimed those accusations are false.
The Italian referee officiated Parkers unification showdown against Joshua and enraged watching fans and experts by continually breaking up the fighters.
Any hint of grappling would prompt Quartarone to step in, which meant the bout struggled to develop a flow or produce any meaningful action.
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Parkers team refused to blame the referee in the post-fight press conference, but the New Zealander did admit there were issues straight away with Quartarone.
He said: When the ref came backstage, he couldnt really speak English. We were trying to talk to him, ask him questions about how he was going to control the fight.
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Were not blaming the ref. Kev [Barry] tried to communicate with the ref and he didnt really speak English. I wanted to work on the inside.
Trainer Kevin Barry echoed his fighters sentiments, saying he believes the referee hampered Parker from executing his game plan.
When one guy has a reach advantage, its very important that were able to get inside and work.
Unfortunately for us he didnt allow us to do that. I tried to speak to him when he came out the back, but he didnt understand the question I was asking him because of the language barrier.
I knew he was from Italy, but I expected him to be able to communicate with both the two participants fighting.
When I found out I actually said to the BBBofC beforehand, How am I going to be able to communicate with the referee?, they said Hes a very good referee.
Joshua appeared at the post-fight press conference moments after Parker spoke to the media, and was surprised to hear his opponents comments.
The Brit insisted the referee spoke fluent English and conducted the entire pre-fight talk in perfect English.
Metro.co.uk is reporting in association with Betfair – for latest odds go here.
More: Boxing
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Joseph Parker has revealed referee Giuseppe Quartarone could not English, but Anthony Joshua has claimed those accusations are false.
The Italian referee officiated Parkers unification showdown against Joshua and enraged watching fans and experts by continually breaking up the fighters.
Any hint of grappling would prompt Quartarone to step in, which meant the bout struggled to develop a flow or produce any meaningful action.
More: Boxing
Parkers team refused to blame the referee in the post-fight press conference, but the New Zealander did admit there were issues straight away with Quartarone.
He said: When the ref came backstage, he couldnt really speak English. We were trying to talk to him, ask him questions about how he was going to control the fight.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
Were not blaming the ref. Kev [Barry] tried to communicate with the ref and he didnt really speak English. I wanted to work on the inside.
Trainer Kevin Barry echoed his fighters sentiments, saying he believes the referee hampered Parker from executing his game plan.
When one guy has a reach advantage, its very important that were able to get inside and work.
Unfortunately for us he didnt allow us to do that. I tried to speak to him when he came out the back, but he didnt understand the question I was asking him because of the language barrier.
I knew he was from Italy, but I expected him to be able to communicate with both the two participants fighting.
When I found out I actually said to the BBBofC beforehand, How am I going to be able to communicate with the referee?, they said Hes a very good referee.
Joshua appeared at the post-fight press conference moments after Parker spoke to the media, and was surprised to hear his opponents comments.
The Brit insisted the referee spoke fluent English and conducted the entire pre-fight talk in perfect English.
Metro.co.uk is reporting in association with Betfair – for latest odds go here.
More: Boxing
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