Referee tells Lee he is sorry after knock down mistake

REFEREE Steve Willis apologised to Andy Lee after his blunder cost him victory over Peter Quillin in New York on Saturday.

Lee drew with ‘Kid Chocolate’ after 12 intriguing rounds, but the referee awarded the American a knock down in the third, when Lee hit the canvas because his opponent was standing on his foot. That ruling didn’t seem to effect Lee’s approach or self belief, but the point deduction did prove vital in-terms of the result- and the referee said sorry to the Limerick man post fight.

In fairness the WBO world middleweight champion claimed the draw was a fair result and seemed content with the outcome against the former champ.

“I think it was a fair result in the end. He scored good knockdowns in the first few rounds and I boxed my way back into it. I was stronger and more consistent going down the stretch and that’s important in those 12 rounds.

“He got the knockdown so that kind of skews your judgement in his favour. I got one back and for his last knockdown he stood on my toe. The referee acknowledged that at the end of the fight and said ‘Sorry, I realise now that was a mistake’.”

Lee revealed that he is unlikely to step into the ring again until August, suggesting Thomond Park as the ideal venue, but didn’t rule out a rematch in the future.

“I would be (interested in a rematch),” he added. “If I don’t make those mistakes that I did earlier in the fight then it’s a different outcome. We’ll see what happens.”