Judge in controversial Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall fight downgraded

One of the judges in the controversial world title fight between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall has been downgraded.

But the British Boxing Board of Control says it is satisfied that the scoring of Ian John-Lewis did not affect the outcome.

The outcome of the BBBofC’s investigation into the scoring of the contest has been criticised by Catterall, who lost a split decision in Glasgow on February 26.

Both John-Lewis (114-111) and Victor Loughlin (113-112) awarded the contest in favour of undisputed super-lightweight champion Taylor, despite him being knocked down in the eighth round and most observers claiming that Catterall had won the fight. The other judge, Howard Foster, scored it 113-112 for Catterall.

A statement from the BBBofC read: “Following an internal review of the scoring of the Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall contest by all three appointed judges, the stewards of the board decided to call Mr Ian John-Lewis to appear before them to explain his returned card.

“Having considered Mr Ian John-Lewis’ explanation, the stewards of the board decided to downgrade Mr John-Lewis from an A Star Class to an A Class Official.

“Whilst the board were satisfied that Mr John-Lewis’ scorecard did not affect the overall result of the contest, the stewards of the board did have issue with his margin.

“As the regulatory body for the sport in Great Britain, the British Boxing Board of Control continue to improve and maintain the high quality and consistency in scoring by our licensed officials.

“As such, the stewards of the board have further decided that in addition to each A Star Class Official being evaluated after each bout, as per current procedure, they will now also be subject to a separate individual annual review.

“Finally,