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Thursday, November 11
 
Williams more concerned with amateur boxers

Associated Press Writer

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The boxing judge whose scoring helped produce the controversial draw in the first fight between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis won't be ringside for the rematch. She won't even be in front of her TV.

"I have an obligation to keep," Eugenia Williams said Thursday. "The children come first."

Williams, a city clerk who also trains amateur boxers, said she will accompany some of her fighters for bouts Saturday night in Upper Darby, Pa., meaning she'll miss Holyfield-Lewis II.

She said she wasn't even curious about the big rematch, but a moment later she added, "Someone's taping it for me. I'll watch it when I come back."

Williams was criticized for scoring the first fight 115-113 for Holyfield, even though most observers thought Lewis clearly had won. English judge Larry O'Connell scored it 115-115, while South African judge Stan Christodoulou favored Lewis, 116-113.

A week later, Williams was called before a New York state Senate committee investigating the March 13 bout at Madison Square Garden. She said photographers at ringside impeded her view and that after watching a replay, she would have scored it differently.

In April, Williams also appeared before a grand jury investigating the International Boxing Federation. That probe resulted in charges last week that IBF president Bob Lee, his son and other officials took bribes from promoters and managers to fix rankings.

Williams' lawyer said she told the grand jury that no one attempted to sway her decision.




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