Casimero foe denies responsibility for boxing riot

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Argentine boxer Luis Lazarte said he should not be held responsible for the free-for-all that happened after his loss to Filipino champion Johnriel Casimero.

Lazarte, who was banned for life by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), said he had no control over the people who attacked Casimero and his team.


"What can you expect from ignorant people. They are ignorant. I had nothing to do with the incidents. I have nothing to do with whoever entered the ring [after the fight,” he said in Boxing Scene.

He also explained that he didn’t really mean it when he threatened referee Eddie Claudio during the fight.

Lazarte said he was mad at the referee because he was issued a point deduction.

“[The verbal threat on the ref] was a heated moment. In such a moment in time, a person can say anything. I apologized to a lot of people. I apologized to the referee,” said the 40-year-old boxer.

Lazarte, a former world junior flyweight champion, resorted to dirty tricks such as biting Casimero and throwing rabbit punches.

The tactics proved useless since the Filipino went on to win via a 10th round stoppage to take home the IBF interim junior flyweight crown.

Lazarte said he has already apologized to Team Casimero for his actions.

“I apologized to the Filipinos worldwide…I apologized to [Casimero] and luckily he accepted my apology," he said.