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Watch: The controversial moment ref steps in to stop Joseph Parker's barrage of punches on Anthony Joshua

April 2, 2018

Parker and Barry said their attempts to understand Giuseppe Quartarone's ruling on fighting inside was lost in translation.

The referee in charge of yesterday's heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker has been under fire from all directions for his officiating with critics claiming he negated any flow to the bout and ruined Parker's game plan.

Giuseppe Quartarone is being questioned by Joseph Parker's team, fighting fans and commentators for his handling of the fight where he seemingly stepped in to break up the two champions any time they got close for a slog fest.

"Obviously when one guy's got the 76-inch reach and the other guy's got 84-85 it's very important to us when we do close the distance that we're able to work," Joseph Parker's trainer Kevin Barry said after the fight.

"Unfortunately for us the referee just didn't allow us to do that. I tried to speak to him when he came down the back and he had no idea or understanding of the question I asked him."

Parker didn't blame Quartarone for the loss, saying yesterday "the better champion won" in Cardiff, but he did admit he was frustrated.

"When the ref came to the back, he couldn't speak English," Parker said.

The Kiwi fighter lost his WBO world title to Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision.

"Kev (trainer Kevin Barry) was trying to talk to him and ask him questions about how he was going to control the fight."

In boxing, the fighter with the shorter reach will often look to fight "inside", or up close, as an attempt to fight "outside" or from a distance is typically a lost cause with their opponent simply able to out-jab them - such as what Joshua was doing early to Parker.

Parker therefore continued to try and fight inside but was continuously denied by Quarterone.

However, Parker and Joshua both seemed happy to throw blows in close, making the officiating style one that was questioned after the fight.

"Every time a real fight broke out, the Italian intervened," The Telegraph's Gareth Davies wrote .

"It meant that as the two combatants went to work inside, they could not come apart and exchange. Instead, it was a fight contested 95 per cent at distance."

"If anything, the referee's meddling probably helped Joshua, who largely controlled affairs from long range. Parker, the shorter man, needed to work inside and was denied the chance by Quartarone's interference," The Times added .

Joshua won the fight, and therefore Parker's WBO title, after their bout went the full twelve rounds and required the judges' scorecards.

The judges scored the fight 118-110, 118-110, and 118-109.

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