Boxer Bizarre: Commonwealth Games wins without throwing a single punch
Namibian boxer Tryagain Morning Ndevelo advanced to the men’s 60kg round of 16 at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow without throwing a single punch after his opponent Anthony Joseph missed the call on Sunday.
Joseph, representing Trinidad and Tobago, was scheduled to face Ndevel in the opening round of the competition. However, when the bell rang to start the first round, Joseph was nowhere to be found.
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The Trinidad and Tobago boxer eventually made it to the ring, but officials prevented him from entering because he was reporting past his call time. As a result, Ndevelo claimed the victory on the jump and advanced to the Round of 16 without landing a single punch.
The bizarre result keeps alive Ndevel’s hopes of winning a Commonwealth Games boxing medal in his third appearance at the multi-sport event.
Elsewhere, Australia’s Paul Trainor kicked off his Commonwealth Games campaign with a controversial stoppage win over Scotsman Alan Perrie in the men’s 80kg category.
The referee stopped the bout with 37 seconds left in the second round due to an injury sustained by Perrie after Trainor knocked out her opponent’s mouth guard.
There had been a brief stop earlier in the round so the ring doctor could examine the inside of Perrie’s mouth. After another exchange, the referee called off the match and awarded Trainor the win.
Perrie was enraged by the decision and walked right out of the arena. The home crowd, which had cheered the Scottish boxer and booed Trainor before the bout, responded with even louder boos after the bout was stopped.
“I understand. It’s months of sacrifice. It would be bittersweet for him. I understand that emotions are flying,” Trainor said after her victorious Commonwealth Games debut.
“All’s fair in love and war. It’s great to start Australia with a win. I’m sure there will be more. Gold is the goal so I need four more wins.”
Trainor expected Perrie to start aggressively, and that’s exactly how the contest unfolded. The Scottish boxer led the judges’ scorecards 4:1 after the opening round.
However, the Australian settled in in the second round, repeatedly finding his range with left hands and right hooks. When the referee entered, Trainor’s shoes and uniform were stained with blood from Perrie’s mouth injury.
“He came out hot, which we knew was going to happen. I feel like I was able to use that against him a little bit,” Trainor said.
“In the second round I started finding that left hand and right hook and as you could see his mouth guard was coming off and it was very bloody.
“Obviously I wanted to keep fighting and I wanted to keep going, but a win is a win and I’ll take it, so a win by any means.
Trainor said he was not surprised the contest was stopped early, although he believed it could have continued into the third round.
“I definitely felt it was only going to get worse,” he said.
“I know he’s a good lad. We played together in Belfast a few weeks ago. It’s definitely not the way you want to end a game in front of your home crowd.”
“So I understand that emotions can be strong. All due respect to him.”
While the crowd largely supported Perrie, Trainor also had a lot of support inside the arena.
His parents moved from the Irish village of Draperstown, County Derry, to Australia before he was born, and several family members traveled to Glasgow for the Games.
His mother, father, sister and relatives from Australia and Ireland were present to watch him make his Commonwealth Games debut.
“It means the world to me. I heard from my mom, my sister, my dad and my uncle,” Trainor said.
“I heard the boos, but I also heard my family. I knew I had to do it for them. That’s why I went out a little faster in the second lap and managed to force a stop.”
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
26 Jul 2026 12:50 IST