Armenian federation condemns officiating after boxers eliminated from World Cup

Armenia’s Boxing Federation on Thursday sharply criticized officiating at the Boxing World Cup, alleging “incomprehensible and illogical” refereeing decisions led to the elimination of two of its top fighters, Artur Bazeyan and Ararat Harutyunyan.

According to the federation, Bazeyan faced Kyrgyzstan’s Munarbek Uulu, a Paris Olympic silver medallist, and won the opening round unanimously, 5–0. Judges awarded the second round by the same margin to his opponent. In the third round, Bazeyan pressed forward and appeared to gain the upper hand before the bout was abruptly halted following a clash that caused a cut to his opponent’s eyebrow.

The federation said the stoppage was medically unwarranted and that Bazeyan had held the advantage at the time, yet judges ultimately awarded victory to the Kyrgyz boxer.

It also denounced the decision in Harutyunyan’s bout against Dominican fighter Ricardo Cuello, stating that the Armenian boxer had a “clear advantage” in the second and third rounds, while his opponent had received a warning from the referee. However, the judges declared Cuello the winner.

The federation described both outcomes as emblematic of “blatant officiating failures”,  asserting that the decisions unjustly ended the campaigns of two of Armenia’s strongest contenders.