BRIEFLY : KING WONDERS WHY ANYONE THINKS HE FIXED FIGHT.Byline: - Daily News wire services Boxing promoter Don King claimed he had absolutely nothing to do with the selection of judges or the outcome of Saturday's heavyweight title bout in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of between his fighter, Evander Holyfield, and Great Britian's Lennox Lewis that resulted in a draw. ``Absolutely not. Why would it even be considered that I fixed the fight?'' he said on ABC's ``Good Morning America Good Morning America is a weekday morning news show that is broadcast on the ABC television network. The show was adapted from The Morning Exchange, a morning show created by and airing on the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, and was launched nationally as .'' Later, in a statement released through Top Rank, King said: ``As a promoter, my job is to present a great event and to sell tickets, not select judges or determine the outcome of a fight in any way. As a matter of fact, I don't ever get involved with any of the judges, and if I see them, it's usually in passing at ringside ring·side n. 1. The area or seats immediately outside an arena or ring, as at a prizefight. 2. A place providing a close view of a spectacle. .'' Three judges, approved by the New York State Athletic Commission and representing the IBF IBF See: International Banking Facility , WBA WBA West Bromwich Albion (English Soccer Club) WBA World Boxing Association WBA Weekly Benefit Amount WBA Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (Madison, WI) WBA Wireless Broadband Access and WBC WBC white blood cell; see leukocyte. WBC abbr. white blood cell WBC, n stands for white blood cell. , ruled the 12-round match a draw although many in the crowd and watching on pay-per-view believed it to be a fight Lewis clearly won on points. ``Any time that you have human judgment involved in making the calls, you may have a certain amount of conflict whether it's championship boxing, professional football, NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= basketball or even Little League baseball,'' King said. ``These decisions all involve people making subjective calls and judgments, and those decisions can be extremely controversial at times.'' As a result of Saturday's draw, Holyfield retains his IBF and WBA championship titles, while Lewis remains the WBC champion. The presidents of all three boxing organizations have called for a rematch of the fight within six months. New York State Attorney General The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York. Eliot Spitzer called for an investigation, his spokesman blaming either ``incompetence'' or ``tampering'' for the decision. New York Gov. George Pataki asked the state Athletic Commission to investigate. The judge most closely scrutinized has been Eugenia Williams, who scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Holyfield. FOOTBALL: Doug Flutie reached agreement on a contract extension with Buffalo that will give the Bills two $5 million quarterbacks. Flutie was expected to sign the four-year, $22 million deal today. The extension will pay the Pro Bowl quarterback $6 million up front. Rob Johnson, last year's starter until going out with a rib injury in the fifth game, signed a $25 million contract last offseason. Flutie took over and led the Bills to a 10-6 record and a wild-card playoff berth after they started the season 0-3. Bills owner Ralph Wilson said at the league meetings in Phoenix that the team ``needs two No. 1 quarterbacks'' and will keep both Johnson and Flutie. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO KING |
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