Amateur boxer ‘criminally’ KO’d and stretchered out of ring after fighting against professional

THE AIBA World Boxing Championships caused massive controversy after an amateur fighter was brutally knocked out by a professional boxer.

Highly-touted American starlet Richard Torrez was taken out of the ring on a stretcher after a vicious left hook Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov.

Pros have been allowed to enter the traditionally amateur-based competitions since the 2016 Olympics, with the recent removal of headguards sparking fears over boxer's safety.

Jalolov, 25, is 6-0 since turning professional in May 2018, with all six of his winning bouts coming by way of knockout.

The US-based Uzbek has now scored another huge KO over Torrez, who is yet to turn over, in the super-heavyweight quarter-finals in Russia.

Southpaw Jalolov took less than one round to put his 20-year-old opponent on the canvas, and the World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman expressed his anger that the bout took place.

He tweeted: "Brutal and criminal to allow a professional boxer Jalolov from Russia with 6-0 as a pro to fight outclassed, outweighed and far smaller USA 20-year-old amateur Torrez AIBA world championship in Russia.

"Jalolov is scheduled for his 7th pro fight in 11 days in USA."

PUNCH-DRUNK

The view sparked a debate on social media, with some fans agreeing that pro/amateur contests should never take place, but others pointed out that Torrez was far from inexperienced himself.

One wrote: "If Torrez would’ve turned pro this year already he would’ve got a great deal. Instead got brutally KO’d by a pro fighter, stock goes way down.

"The Jalolov of 3 years ago without pro experience a lot less likely to have done that. Olympic dream not what it used to be! Sad!"

But another said: "Jalolov being a pro had nothing to do with this KO, he caught torrez with a good shot that would of knocked out both pros and amateurs, a lot of pro fighters go back and forth to the amateurs it’s no big deal."

A third added: "Viva Jalolov. Where was the outcry when a 2x World champion Hassan N'Dam with 35+ pro fights went to the 2016 Olympics...oh wait..."

Torrez later updated fans on his condition from the hospital to assure them that the tests he'd done had all came back "perfect."