Okay, we’ll admit it! Like most people, we got caught up in the hype of Anthony Joshua v Joseph Parker beforehand.
What was not to like really? After all, you had two unbeaten, big-punching heavyweight world champions going toe-to-toe in front of a packed house at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff with all the gold on the line!
It didn’t quite turn out that way and the boxers themselves will have to cop some of the blame for the cagey affair, however the viewing public felt there was only one man to blame for spoiling the action and that’s referee Giuseppe Quartarone.
Punch out you boxing bets on PaddyPower.com
Quartarone utterly refused to allow the fighters to get anywhere close to each other throughout the contest and continually broke them up whenever the action got hot and heavy on the inside – much to the frustration of not only boxing fans in the stadium, but to those watching the bout at home as well.
Even though Joshua took a deserved first ever victory on points, it’s fair to say the majority took to Twitter last night to share their disappointment at Quartarone’s performance rather than talk about AJ’s win.
It might just be last time we see the Italian in charge of a Joshua fight, hopefully…
.@EddieHearn can you DM me the contact number for tonight’s ref? I will happily pay him to come and be my nanny and sort my 2 older kids out when they are fighting, which is all hours of every day.
I will even get you a signed Scotland rugby ball. #JoshuavParker— Jim Hamilton (Vice Captain) (@jimhamilton4) March 31, 2018
#joshuaparker wasn’t the scrap I’d hoped it would be but AJ fought well & smart. Kept JP at end of jab. Ref seemed too hurried to break them up at times… but it was a clear win for AJ and he showed maturity & patience.#DAZN #DAZNGuestJudge #joshuaparker #Sponsored
— Lennox Lewis, CBE, CM (@LennoxLewis) March 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/DavidMeyler7/status/980213688559984647
World class amateur referee #Break #JoshuaParker
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) March 31, 2018
Referee on points for me.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 31, 2018
Piss off Ref 🤪
— John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) March 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/cyruschristie/status/980212036184563712
Would have loved the ref to let them get closer 🙈🙈🙈 AJ vs JP
— Jeff Hendrick (@JeffHendrick92) March 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/themediaguy01/status/980216541928148993
Waiting for the lights to go out and the undertaker to appear and choke slam the ref #JoshuaParker pic.twitter.com/6yOPCIt2yK
— Mark (@MarkNufcSippy) March 31, 2018
The referee in the Joshua-Parker fight is bringing back memories of Leslie Nielsen behind home plate in The Naked Gun. It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen a worse boxing ref.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 31, 2018
Grab some cracking boxing odds over at PaddyPower.comThis ref is having a Mike Dean.
— Alex Shaw (@AlexShawTel) March 31, 2018