Promoters Add Their Two Cents : Boxing: Whitaker’s Duva to protest judges’ decision. Duva, Arum to join forces against Chavez’s King, WBC.

Charges flew, complaints were set to be filed and the boxing world continued to convulse Tuesday in the wake of the controversial Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez majority-decision draw last Friday at San Antonio.

In a conference call with reporters, Whitaker’s promoter, Dan Duva, said he will file a formal protest with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversees boxing in the state.

At issue are quotes attributed to one of the judges, Mickey Vann, to the effect that he deducted a point from Whitaker in the sixth round for a low blow.

Although the referee, Joe Cortez, allowed Chavez about 30 seconds to recover from the blow, he ruled that it had been unintentional and that no point should be deducted.

According to Texas, World Boxing Council and universally understood boxing rules, only the referee can decide whether a point must be deducted for a penalty.

Vann gave the round to Chavez, 10-9.

“I . . . deducted a point from Whitaker for an appallingly low blow in the sixth round,” the London Daily Express quoted Vann as saying after the fight.

Vann, speaking by telephone from England Tuesday, told the Associated Press that he had done nothing of the kind.

“I deducted no points on any round and I told no one that I deducted a point,” he said.

Because Vann was one of two judges who scored the fight a draw--the other scored it for Whitaker--one point added to Whitaker’s total on Vann’s card would have given Whitaker a majority decision and sent Chavez to his first non-reversed defeat in 88 fights.

A spokesman for the Texas commission said there would be no action taken until an official complaint was filed.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas promoter Bob Arum, who was not associated with the fight, fired his own salvo at Don King, who promoted Friday’s fight and also is Chavez’s promoter, and the WBC, which oversaw the bout.

Calling King’s relationship with the WBC and its president, Jose Sulaiman, a “criminal conspiracy” and a “cancer which has plagued the sport,” Arum said that he and Duva would asoon be joining forces to try to weaken the influence of the WBC and King.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that (the Chavez-Whitaker draw) is a continuation of what’s been going on for over 10 years,” Arum said.

Arum said he will ask the Nevada Boxing Commission, one of the most powerful in the country, to refuse to sanction WBC fights unless the WBC has nothing to do with the choosing of judges or anything else involving specific fights.