Phil Sutcliffe Jr slams EBU for rankings snub

“F*ck that!”

– Phil Sutcliffe’s response when asked whether his loss to European #2 could be considered a blessing in disguise.

It could be argued that, now with a loss on his record, top British light welters may be more inclined to face the avoided Dubliner. However, Sutcliffe contends that “I would rather have 10 wins that be 9-1.”

Indeed this theory isn’t playing out, with the Crumlin puncher explaining, “sure which of them are looking or evening willing to fight me now? It’s still the same.”

“I did learn lessons, but losing is never a blessing in disguise.”

While his performance in the tight majority-decision loss drew credit from boxing fans, this has not been echoed by governing bodies and Sutcliffe certainly isn’t happy with his lack of reward for the short-notice performance against the Swede. The 27 year old notes how “the EBU didn’t even move up the rankings!”

“I think that is ridiculous. Who goes to Germany at 10 days notice and performs against their number 2 and doesn’t get ranked?”

“I wouldn’t mind, but at the very least the fight was a draw. I thought I won, but if I scored it harshly I would say it was a draw.”

With a Yigit rematch looking unlikely, what the future holds for Sutcliffe is unclear, who muses that “now we have to wait and see what happens. I would go back to Germany and fight him. I would even fight him in Sweden, but they won’t take the fight.”

“They know they got away lucky.”

“I have a meeting with Pat next week and we will see what’s next.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)