Klitschko dismisses Charr protest

World heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko admitted Tuesday he is bewildered after Germany’s Manuel Charr lodged a protest following his fourth-round technical knock-out defeat to the Ukrainian.

Klitschko earned a TKO win over Charr in Moscow on Saturday in their WBC world title bout after a cut opened over the German’s right eye and the challenger also hit the canvas in the second round.

But Charr’s management are protesting to the WBC on a technicality because the ring doctor treated the German in Klitschko’s red corner, not Charr’s blue corner, and Klitschko has reacted with bewilderment.

“What’s the point of him doing that?” questioned the 41-year-old in a press conference in Kiev, Ukraine.

“Another round, or a maximum of two, and Charr would have been on the floor.”

Rematch wanted

But Charr’s management are hoping for a rematch with the champion.

“The protest is motivated by a clear and indisputable violation. The official rules were given to both teams the day before the fight in a meeting,” said Pit Gleim, boss of Diamond Boy promotions, who manage Charr.

The protest has only a slim chance of being successful as Thomas Puetz, president of Germany’s Professional Boxers Federation has already said there was no rule violation after the fight.

Klitschko is now focusing on the Ukraine parliamentary elections on October 28 and there will no negotiations of further fights before then.

Charr, a Beirut-born former kickboxer, suffered the first defeat of his 22-fight career to Klitschko.

“I can’t sleep since Saturday night, my victory was stolen from me. We have to box again,” wrote Charr on his Facebook page.