The World Boxing Association (WBA) announced it has suspended judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo after finding a controversial scorecard and racist tweets from her now-deleted Twitter account.
“As stated in Article 9.01 of our Code of Ethics: “To oppose and counteract discrimination on the grounds of race, nationality, religion, social status,” the WBA announced on Twitter. “For that reason, the WBA has suspended judge Gloria Martinez indefinitely.”
WNBA President Gilberto Mendoza will meet with Rizzo on Wednesday to discuss disciplinary action. The disciplinary actions can include permanent expulsion from WBA-sanctioned fights.
These actions were prompted by Rizzo’s highly controversial 117-110 scorecard in the Mykal Fox vs. Gabriel Maestre interim welterweight title fight on Saturday, and it sparked outrage in the boxing community. Many believed that Fox won the bout after he scored a second-round knockout, but Maestre was declared the winner. This led to confusion among the audience. Fox later called the fight a “robbery.”
Shortly after the fight, Rizzo was revealed to have made several racist tweets in 2020, which included negative remarks about LeBron James and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
“We saw her score was wrong despite the unanimous decision,” Mendoza told ESPN. “Those comments she made in the past — she might be expelled by the WBA.”
“I don’t support any kind of racism. I believe inequality,” Mendoza added. “Sports are the only thing that brings equality into the world sometimes.”
