Dunkin to DC: 'Do the right thing!'

Story by Rick Scharmberg
Photos by Mike Greenhill

Philadelphia’s Anthony “The Messenger” Thompson and his team, including manager Cameron Dunkin, are protesting his controversial loss last Friday to Baltimore’s Ishmail Arvin that took place in Washington, DC.

The scheduled 10-round junior middleweight bout, which was for the USBO title, ended after six rounds on the doctor’s recommendation, due to a cut and swelling over his left eye. Although replays showed Thompson’s cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads in the third round, referee Walik Maleed didn’t determine that until he saw the ESPN2 replay immediately after the fight was stopped. The local boxing commission reviewed the tape, and after a discussion, awarded the victory to Arvin, which sparked the controversy.

According to Thompson’s manager, Cameron Dunkin, the IBO, parent of the USBO, sent a letter to the D.C. Boxing Commission declaring its intent to declare the title vacant.

“The IBO sent a letter to the commission, of which I have a copy,” said Dunkin. “They said they intend on vacating the title, and are asking for a reversal of the decision, to make it a no-contest. There is no such thing as a no-contest to us. The fight did take place, as you can see. We are seeking a reversal of the decision.”

Because of the controversial technicality, Thompson suffered his third loss, dropping to 23-3, 17 KOs.

“We are giving them [the DC commission] a chance to react,” says Dunkin. “We want to see them do the right thing. Nobody can blame them for the confusion, especially with that monitor shoved in their face. If someone does something wrong to you and then comes back and apologizes to you for it, you can’t hate them for that. The question is, will they do the right thing or not? I’d like to think it will come out in due process. They were under the gun to do something and stand by it, but I expect them to review it and do the right thing.

“We have our attorneys ready to act right now. But I think they will do the right thing. They don’t want to look bad with all those people watching. Is Arvin a 'house fighter'? He is from Baltimore, 30 minutes away. That doesn’t look too good. We want them to say ‘The referee missed it. We missed it, but we’re going to fix it.’ As long as we’re treated fairly, Anthony has said that he will grant a rematch, even in DC.”

Cameron concluded by saying, “I hate it when people bash boxing. I love the sport. It’s no different that any other sport, but I always seem to be defending it.”