Sam Soliman denied by Dominic Wade in controversial bout

“It took me 45 minutes to get to my dressing room because so many people stopped me to say they couldn’t believe the decision, that it was disgusting, “ Soliman said.

Some of the crowd booed when the scorecards were read out, with two of the thee American judges giving the fight to Dominic Wade, 25, and the other to Soliman.

The result _ Wade’s 18th win without a defeat _ was heavily influenced by a call from experienced referee Jack Reiss when Soliman toppled backwards in the fourth round.

Reiss ruled Wade had connected with a left hook but to many observers Soliman might have just lost his balance.

The call obliged the judges to score the round 10-8 rather than the 10-9 routinely awarded for a winning round with no knockdowns.

One of them, Robert Byrd, had Wade one point ahead at the finish, 95-94, meaning he would have called it a draw if Soliman had not lost the extra point _ and with the other two, Max Deluca and Robert Hoyle, disagreeing on the winner, the fight would have been a draw.

Hoyle’s margin in favour of Wade, 97-92, seemed extravagant for an ugly but close contest, with the stats showing Soliman threw and landed more effective punches.

Hoyle is a familiar figure to the Soliman camp, having judged his winning bout against Giovanni Lorenzo in Geelong in 2012

Soliman’s manager David Stanley claims Hoyle said to him: “We have to re-look at it.” Stanley said he had no idea what the cryptic remark meant. “Decisions are never ‘re-looked at,’” he said.

Soliman, having his first fight since losing his IBF middleweight title to another American, Jermaine Taylor, last October, said there was no way Wade had connected with the knock-down punch.

“Not at all. The replays prove that,” he said.

He said he would fight on in search of another title opportunity.

“A decision like this won’t bring me down. I know what I did. If you let them get to you like this, they win twice,” he said.

The defeat will, however, make it hard to maintain a ranking high enough to earn a title shot. “We need to cool down and think about it,” Stanley said.

The fight was a roughhouse affair with Wade twice upending Soliman without throwing a punch. The referee repeatedly told them to stop wrestling and box.

The American was wary of Soliman’s notoriously awkward style and seemed more intent on keeping himself safe than making any serious attempt to inflict damage on the much older man.

Soliman, who wore a bandage on one leg after having had a knee reconstruction since his last fight, was unmarked and unhurt.

He was so confident he had the result under control he raised his arms in the traditional victory salute at the end of the eighth round, which was tempting fate.