Boxing: Burnett v Haskins was scored incorrectly, says IBF

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[June 13, 2017]    (Reuters) - Ryan Burnett's split decision win over Briton Lee Haskins for the world bantamweight title was scored incorrectly and should have been an unanimous win, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) has said.

Lee Haskins in action with Ryan Burnett Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff Livepic

The Northern Irishman knocked down defending champion Haskins in the sixth and 11th rounds with two of the three judges handing him favorable scorecards of 119-107 but the last judge, American Clark Sammartino, scored him losing 118-108.

The 25-year-old's promoter, Eddie Hearn, had called for an investigation into the decision after the fight and the IBF confirmed that Sammartino had made an error.

"On Saturday, the IBF bantamweight bout between Lee Haskins and Ryan Burnett held at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Ireland was ruled a split decision victory for Burnett as a result of an error with the scorecards," the IBF said in a statement.

"Due to this error... the bout was declared a split decision when it should have been ruled a unanimous decision in favor of Burnett. An error of this nature and at this level of the sport should not have occurred...

"The IBF remains committed to recommending qualified and reliable officials to work its sanctioned bouts, and is fully intent on deterring a situation such as this one from occurring again in the future."

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

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