Brock ‘robbed’ by drawn decision

Left: Shane Brock was unable to raise his arm in triumph after the judges ruled his bout against Romilus Rahayaan as a draw at the Bentleigh Club on Sunday. Picture: Luke Plummer.

By Marc McGowan
CRANBOURNE boxer Shane Brock was forced to settle for a draw in his World Boxing Federation Asia Pacific Flyweight Title bout with Indonesian Romilus Rahayaan at the Bentleigh Club on Sunday.
The judges scored the 10-round showcase 96-96, 95-95 and 96-94 to leave the Brock camp disappointed and seeking a rematch.
Brock’s trainer Steve Kerr was shocked on hearing the referee’s announcement after feeling his charge had the better of the fight.
“It was devastation, really. A lot of people couldn’t believe it,” Kerr said.
“There were a lot of good people in the audience – not just from our group – that have been around the game a long time and thought he was robbed.”
After a strong preparation, Brock and Kerr were rocked by the news that the Indonesian was a left-hander.
“I only found out the day before that he was a south paw. That threw a spanner in the works because you do a lot of work leading up to fight to get your fighter tuned up,” Kerr said.
“It’s the first time he’s fought one as a professional, but he always had troubles with south paws as an amateur.”
Kerr was quick to compliment the endurance-packed Rahayaan and acknowledged that the Indonesian was a dangerous fighter.
“(Rahayaan) was fit and he certainly wasn’t going to fall over. He could have gone another 10 rounds,” he said.
A foot injury suffered during the sixth round was another blow to Brock and cost him his usually vibrant style for the final four rounds.
“He didn’t have the bounce he had in the first few rounds, but that is not making excuses,” Kerr said.
“The Indonesian came home strong, but Shane was just protecting his lead and didn’t want to go out and mix it with him.
“He was just looking after himself because we thought we had a bit of a buffer.”
Brock is in Thailand for a friend’s wedding and appears set to fly over to Indonesia to battle one of Rahayaan’s countrymen on 16 June.
“It was perfect timing, really, for the wedding because it means he can relax then come back fit and mentally well,” Kerr said.
“There will definitely be a rematch, but we have a couple of other things first.
“(Boxing promoter) Barry Michaels has a show in August and I’ll have a pro show myself in four months’ time to give the kid another chance for the title.”