Bitter controversy for Taylor Grant

An ugly decision that has the boxing world talking

Boxing news? The lovely Anna Schwartz has you covered. She goes on the air to deliver the latest action from the Box TV studio in Berlin.

Anna: “Hello and welcome, fight fans. We have a round of fight results once again as it’s been a busy time in the Lightweight and Super Lightweight divisions.”

Seconds Out Anna Schwartz

Early lead

Anna: “Taylor Grant went to London to fight against Delara Salimi in a most interesting Super Lightweight contest. Respectively number three and six in the rankings, Grant and Salimi had what we could call a battle of the green leather and mouthpieces. According to our sources, this took place in London to generate the biggest possible payday for both fighters. How did it go?”

Anna: “Salimi, a Brit with an Iranian background, started the match by putting pressure on Grant in the first three rounds, which looked like the right approach to unsettle a woman who has the fastest hands in women’s boxing. She was broadly successful in landing punches against the American, and I had her leading at that point.”

Taylor Grant Delara Salimi 1-1
Taylor Grant Delara Salimi 1-2

Serious comeback

Anna: “However, Grant staged a majestic comeback. She let her hands go with the kind of speed that most men can’t even generate in the boxing ring to gain the edge in the middle rounds. She intensified pressure in the last three rounds to make it, in our opinion, a clean sweep for most of the fight.”

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Bad scores

Anna: “Almost everyone at ringside, and at home, had a shock when the scorecards were read by the ring announcer. All three judges, every one of them British, scored the bout 97-93 in favour of Salimi. As an indication, I scored it 97-93 for Grant, who I didn’t see dropping a single point starting from Round 4.”

Anna: “Right after the match, Grant was livid. She said, and I quote:

This decision is the biggest piece of shit I’ve seen in boxing in a long time! I scored the best punches through most of that fight and deserve the win. Do these judges have any idea what we go through as professional boxers? You sweat, you bleed, you get injured and suffer to become a top fighter. What did those beer-belly judges do to get seats on those official chairs? Yeah, they got there because they knew someone. It’s got nothing to do with our sacrifices!

Anna: “My colleague Esther Schouten and I, at Box TV, consider this decision as a robbery.”

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Anna: “The Super Lightweight division’s world champion, Alesia Schumann, weighed in on Twitter minutes after the action. She didn’t mince her words about the judging for that fight.”

Alesia tweet

It’s war

Heidi Becker and Veronica Lillegard, respectively CEO and Vice President at Final Bell Boxing, both watched the fight from their living rooms. They had a quick call to agree on what to say, and Veronica made it known.

Anna: “The folks at Final Bell Boxing, the biggest promoter in the world, applied tremendous pressure on Britain’s governing body in the hour that followed the match. We have yet to know what will come out of this case, but were this threat carried out, British judges would be locked out of the most interesting boxing events in the future. I don’t think we’ve seen the end of this story yet.”

Final Bell tweet

Easy work

Anna: “Back to Germany. Two notable fights took place in the same evening in the lovely city of Dresden. In the semi-final of the program, Melanie Spitzer defended her German title in the Super Lightweight division against Hilda Bastian. A voluntary defense granted to the policewoman, who never had a title shot before.”

Anna: “There was no robbery this time. The woman from Magdeburg had no problem dealing with the part-timer, starting slowly and progressively displaying her power as the rounds went. She went all-out for a strong finish in Round 6, forcing referee Zelda Deniz to stop the action as Bastian was not defending herself anymore.”

Anna: “After having improved her record to 8 KO wins and two defeats, Spitzer claimed that she is one of the best fighters worldwide. She asked for a world title shot against Alesia Schumann for a German supermatch. Sources tell me that the Diva said:

Don’t call me, I’ll call you. If I want.

Melanie Spitzer Hilda Bastian 1
Melanie Spitzer Hilda Bastian 2

Seasoned veteran

Anna: “Before that match, Steffi Slater went in the ring with Selena Martinez. The Mexican wanted to brawl but the American denied her the opportunity to turn the match into a slugfest. Slater worked behind a stiff and punishing jab to slow the action down and dictate the pace from a distance. She moved well with clean, effective punching on her way to a unanimous 98-92 on the scorecards. A convincing for the veteran who is a contender to the world title.”

Steffi Slater Selena Martinez 1
Steffi Slater Selena Martinez 2

Anna: “That’s it for today’s results update. On the other side of the break: our gossip and interviews segment.”

Steffi Slater
Steffi Slater
Former Super Lightweight world champion. A veteran who had a very successful run after moving up in weight and migrating to Germany.