Russian contender Vladimir Shishkin and his team are looking to overturn the loss Shishkin suffered on Saturday, October 19, against Cuban fighter William Scull who won the title fight by a controversial unananimous decision to win the vacant IBF super middleweight title. A petition has now been filed to Germany’s national boxing governing body in order to reverse the outcome of Saturday’s fight.
According to Boxing News’ Keith Idec, Vladimir Shishkin’s (16-1, 10 KO’s) attorney and promoter, Dmitry Salita―head of Salita Promotions―have filed a petition on Monday [October 21] to the Bund Deutsche Berufsboxer (BDB), the Association of German Professional Boxers, that oversees and regulates all professional boxing fights in Germany.
The October 19 fight between Shishkin and current IBF super middleweight (168 lbs) champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KO’s) contained controversial cards with all judges scoring the fight [116-113, 116-112, 115-113] as a unanimous decision (UD) in favor of Scull despite Shishkin having arguably done enough to earn the UD win for himself.
The petition aims to not only reverse the decision in favor of Shishkin, but also intends to hold both the judges and the referee accountable for perceived favoritism towards Scull.
“We need to hold officials and organizations accountable,” Salita explained to Boxing News regarding the petition. “Casual boxing fans say things like, ‘Oh, that’s boxing’. But when things like this happen and there’s no accountability, it’s terrible to just say, ‘that’s boxing’.
“Thank God there’s a system of checks and balances, there’s a legal system and there’s a way to deal with this. For the sport to move forward, as we’re all trying to revive interest in it and respect for it, it’s important that the just thing happens.”
The alleged favoritism towards Cuban-born William Scull might be related to the fact that Scull resides and trains in Germany in which the fight was held. Scull’s promoter, Berlin-based AGON Sports & Events, organized Saturday’s event which was streamed live on DAZN.
Aside from the petition, Team Shishkin will further approach the IBF for an immediate rematch.
Scull, 32, was prior made the IBF super middleweight mandatory challenger to Mexican unfied [WBA, WBC & WBO] 168 lbs champion Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO’s)―when Alvarez was still the undisputed champion. Due to Alvarez seeking to avoid a fight with Scull due to a perceived lack of popularity, Alvarez was eventually stripped of his IBF title by the organization.
The IBF subsequently ordered William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin to face each other in a mandatory bout for the vacant IBF super middleweight title, which was held last Saturday.
Shishkin, 33, has been a top-ranked 168 lbs contender in the IBF’s rankings for several years and holds notable wins over Ghanaian contender Sena Agbeko (28-4, 22 KO’s) and Venezuelan former IBF interim world champion Jose Uzcategui (33-5, 28 KO’s).
