Thomas Carty was ‘blatantly’ fouled by David Allen, who should have been disqualified after the strange end to their fight, says the Irishman’s manager, Mike Ofo.
Carty took a dramatic tumble through the ropes after being hit in the back of the head in the opening round of his clash with Allen on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s farewell match at Croke Park on Saturday.
The match was ruled a ‘no contest’ after Carty was unable to continue, but Ofo believes Allen should have been penalized for an illegal tackle.
Ofo told him Sky Sports: “I am very disappointed at what happened on Saturday night in Croke Park and the premature stoppage of what should have been the crowning glory of Thomas’ career so far.
“Thomas was pumped to fight in such a historic event in front of such a large crowd at the home of Irish sport and was shocked by the strange turn of events.
“What happened was plain for all to see with Allen fouling him twice in quick succession in response to Thomas’ punishing hit that immediately marked Allen’s face.
“The second, illegal rabbit punch to the back of Thomas’ head knocked him into the ropes and there is only one result under the rules of boxing under those circumstances – a DQ loss for Allen.”
… he keeps crashing
OUCH! Carty lands on his head and shoulder outside the ring
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Allen had tried to explain the final punch of the fight, saying: “I got a little close, caught him with a left to the body and shook him a little bit in the head.
“I think, then he threw a combination, took my head back with an uppercut.
“But then he grabbed me frantically. I’m never aiming for the back of anybody’s head, but I’m aiming for here (the ear).
“It wasn’t a big hit; I tried to grab him around the ear like I always do, and he turned his head into it. It went off the back of his head.
“From here on out, I don’t know. It’s not for me to say what happened. He’s a good guy, I like him…
“I grabbed him by the head, not on purpose; he turned and went through the ropes.
“At that time, I said to the referee: ‘You’re not going to count? “If it was in the middle of the ring, I would have won by stoppage.”
But Ofo has dismissed Allen’s account and is convinced Carty would have been victorious by stoppage had the fight not ended prematurely.
The fight’s unfortunate conclusion was another cruel twist of fate for Carty, who suffered his only loss last year after suffering a dreaded knee injury, but the 30-year-old is hoping to score his 12th professional victory in a rematch with Allen.
Ofo said: “I see he’s already busy trying to create a narrative, but this is on and Thomas and the team were all confident that he would have stopped Allen in the later rounds, especially in light of the terrible form Allen was in. Honestly, he should change his nickname from ‘White Rhino’ to ‘White Hippo.’
“However, once the BUI has reviewed the referee’s decision and done the right thing, we will happily grant Allen a rematch and they can settle it once and for all – hopefully inside the ring this time!
Allen declined to comment on Ofo’s comments.
