How would Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker have played out if Giuseppe Quartarone wasn’t the third man in the ring?
Quartarone was tasked with controlling the action in Saturday night’s unification clash in Cardiff and he has been widely criticised for his repeated breaking up of any in-fighting.
On several occasions, the referee got himself between the fighters when most officials would have allowed them to fight their way out of the exchanges.
Joshua wasn’t upset by Quartarone’s willingness to separate as it was he who possessed the reach advantage and the less time spent in Parker’s range, the better for ‘AJ’.
Brilliant 👏👏👏 https://t.co/g43lzCq6MZ
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) April 1, 2018
Many viewers have complained that the bout was spoiled by the referee and Parker’s team were not happy with him from the get-go, as they claimed that the Italian referee couldn’t speak English.
“When the ref came to the back, he couldn’t speak English,” Parker said, via the Telegraph. “[Coach] Kevin Barry was trying to talk to him and ask him questions about how he was going to control the fight.”
Parker’s trainer backed up his fighter’s claim that the referee’s ability to understand English was not up to scratch.
“Obviously when one guy’s got the 76-inch reach and the other guy’s got 84-85 it’s very important to us when we do close the distance that we’re able to work,” Barry said.
“Unfortunately for us the referee just didn’t allow us to do that. I tried to speak to him when he came down the back and he had no idea or understanding of the question I asked him.”
However Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn both refuted Parker’s claims, insisting that the referee had “perfect English.”
“Sometimes the refs get a hard time from fans and fighters but I don’t really like to put a bad name on the ref and the judges because they’re there to do their job,” Joshua said in his post-fight press conference.
“Parker’s trainer should have advised him on ways to avoid getting disciplined and told off by the ref.
“That’s his job, not to go against the referee but to find a way to go around the referee with what he’s doing.
“It’s not my job to disrespect the referees and the judges.”
