Boxing coach's hard-hitting allegations

General Taweep, the president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand (Abat), was fuming at how the judges scored the fight that saw the Thai boxer lose 5-2. In terms of the raw score, it was a draw. Two judges said the Thai boxer scored higher, the other two gave it to the Mongolian. The fifth judge gave each boxer the same amount of points.

Video footage showed Amnat landing some head shots but this was not reflected in the score. In amateur boxing, at least three out of the five judges must agree on the points before they are officially accounted. Technically, a boxer can lick his opponent with a Thomas "Hitman" Hearns-like solid right cross, but unless three out of five judges push their buttons, it doesn't count. That's life in amateur boxing.

On Thursday morning, Taweep made some damning allegations during a television interview. Without naming names, he alleged that some of these judges have a history of being biased against Thai boxers.

While falling short of suggesting the judges had rigged the fight, Taweep further stated that three unnamed "traitors", Thai nationals in Bangkok and Beijing, exploited the bias of these judges by making sure they would officiate the Thai fights.

He did not provide further details but claimed that this was a conspiracy to remove him from his post as the head of Abat and vowed to speak his mind once the tournament ends.

Unlike other heads of sports associations in Thailand, Taweep knows boxing. He is known to have close working relations with the boxers and is said to be quite a knowledgeable person about the sport.

But for him to make that kind of allegation without backing it up with evidence could very well be damaging for the standing of Thai boxing internationally.

Thai boxers have worked hard over the decades to become one of the major forces to be reckoned with in the world of amateur boxing, which has long been dominated by countries like Cuba, the US and Russia. When the head of Abat makes such serious allegations it really places Thai boxers in an unwanted spotlight. These young men, who have worked hard all their lives, do not deserve this kind of treatment.

If Taweep has the evidence to back up his claim, he needs to come out with it. The longer he waits the more damaging this could be for Thai boxers and for Thai boxing.