By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
Ugandan boxer Aziz Abdul, the grandson of former military ruler Idi Amin, saw his Commonwealth Games debut end in controversy after he was disqualified for head-butting England’s Damar Thomas during their super-heavyweight contest at the SEC Centre in Glasgow.
The 25-year-old, popularly known as “Aziz Ringo,” was trailing 20-16 on the judges’ scorecards when the referee stopped the bout in the third round after ruling that he had intentionally driven his head into his opponent.
The disqualification handed victory to the 21-year-old English boxer, guaranteeing Thomas at least a bronze medal at the Games.
The incident capped a disappointing outing for Abdul, who had entered the competition promising to become “the new king of Scotland”. Instead, his campaign ended in controversy as he protested the referee’s decision and accused officials of treating him unfairly.
“There were a lot of fouls. Holding, elbowing, a lot of bullshit. The officials cannot judge them. When other countries do this they are disqualified. All I can say about this is the referee’s decision is not right and I am not happy”.
Abdul also questioned an earlier knockdown ruling in the opening round.
“He took a light punch and they counted. I landed a heavy punch on him and they deducted my points and warned me. I’m a black African, I know. It’s God’s plan. I don’t know why the officials are scared about this fight. Why can’t they let this fight continue?”
The Ugandan boxer denied deliberately head-butting Thomas, insisting the clash was accidental.
“He got me with the elbow. It was not intentional because I was trying to come back. How can I head-butt someone? I would not head-butt someone”.
He added that he remained determined to avenge the defeat in the future.
“When I was still in Uganda, I said I must win by knockout. It’s an away match for me here. Next time I must end the fight in the first minute.
“Next time, I will get him. Anytime in the future. Two years, five years, 10 years. I will show him that Aziz Ringo is a real warrior. It’s so painful,” he added.
Thomas, meanwhile, said he was pleased to progress despite the unusual circumstances.
“I got the job done, not how I wanted to, but the job is done. He was running at me with his head. There was a bit of ring rust from me but it is what it is”.
