Hall-of-Fame Promoter Wilfried Sauerland has postponed King Arthur’s departure to the USA since Dan Goossen and the Californian Boxing Commission have failed to take action in the row over the officials. In the Super Six World Boxing Classic semi-finals, Arthur Abraham was scheduled to take on WBA Super-Middleweight Champion Andre Ward at the Home Depot Center in Carson on May 14. As stated previously, Sauerland will not let Abraham travel to the USA before the Californian Commission honors the existing agreement over neutral officials.
“Contrary to what Dan Goossen said and contrary to what has been agreed upon by all parties, the Californian Commission still insists on appointing a Californian referee and a Californian judge,” Sauerland said. “It is a shame that the completion of a high-profile global sporting event such as the Super Six tournament is being jeopardized by a promoter and his ridiculous attempts to protect his fighter. Goossen is using exactly the same tactics he did before the Kessler-Ward fight. He is playing dumb and he pretends to be in the dark about the Commission’s nominations. We have protested their decision to appoint a Californian referee because the contracts, which have been signed by Goossen and Ward, clearly state that he should be neither from the USA nor Europe. Most certainly the third man in the ring should not be one of Goossen’s neighbors from California!”
Sauerland underlined that unless the Californian Commission honors the existing agreement, Arthur Abraham will not leave Germany. “This issue needs to be sorted, that’s the bottom line. It’s ridiculous. We are not sure why Goossen and his friends are playing these tricks on us. Ward is the favorite and he is fighting at home. But maybe it has occurred to them that Arthur has the power to knock Ward out with one single punch. Maybe Goossen has realized that this time he can only protect Ward by blocking this fight to get a free trip to the final.”
