WAS it the call that felled the King?
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Shannon 'Shaggy' King was left bewildered by the eight-count call in the fifth round of the Australian Super Welterweight Title bout on Friday night, won in a split decision by Orange's Sam Ah-See in thrilling fashion.
Ah-See rattled King mid-way through the fifth round, enough to spill the visiting brawler through the ropes of the Orange Function Centre ring.
King, however, said the blows weren't enough to "wobble" him, or warrant an eight-count for that matter.
"Sam's definitely tough," King said.
"My only thing is there was no way that was an eight count.
"I was chatting to the crowd, and if I'm chatting to the crowd I'm not actually wobbled ... he pushed me through the ropes.
"He did tag me before that then I punched back a few more times then he pushed me through the ropes and someone said they wanted to smash me so I was having a chat to them, I turn around and (the referee) was counting me.
"In saying that, I couldn't be a ref. It's a hard decision, I'm not blaming the ref. It's just the way the cookie crumbles."
A worthy opponent in what was just the second title fight in Orange in nearly 30 years, King praised Ah-See's corner for getting the southpaw the career-defining victory.
But the Brisbane-based Corporate Boxing fighter said Ah-See had some way to go yet in his young boxing career.
"He's got heaps of skill," King said.
"But there's a lot more to boxing than just skill. A lot of it has to do with the occasion,"
"I spar Mundine a lot, I think I beat Mundine most rounds I spar him ... but you put the world on Mundine's shoulders and he just goes to the next level. On the night, he's unbelievable.
"The occasion may have gotten to Sam a little bit."
Awarded split decision, the first judge had 97-93 Shannon King,jJudge two, Justin Kennedy, had 97-94 Sam Ah-See and the final judge, Tim McDonald, had 96-92 to the blue corner, and with that a delirious home crowd celebrated Ah-See's title win.
"It was good for Orange," King offered.
"Nothing better than a 10-round punch on."
