It has been confirmed by the British Boxing Board of Control that a request made by Nick Ball’s team to wrap their fighter’s hands without anyone present from Brandon Figueroa’s team was approved by both the Board and the WBA on Saturday night. Ball headed into the bout, staged in his home city of Liverpool, England, as the WBA featherweight champion.

Though it is not a rule that a member of the opposing team watches hands being wrapped it is nearly always agreed, at the rules meeting on the eve of the bout, that such a practice will occur ahead of contests of certain importance.

“They wrapped [Ball’s] hands and we were not present,” Manny Robles, Figueroa’s trainer, told Boxing News on the night. “This was discussed in the fighters’ meeting. I said, I want to watch the hands being wrapped. It was all agreed, the commission, the WBA.

“When I came in the hands had already been wrapped. They [Ball’s team] said we were a little late, they were making excuses. That’s not fair.”

The British Boxing Board of Control reviewed the incident on Wednesday and concluded that Ball’s team had every right to move ahead with the wrapping if the opposing team were not present at the stipulated time.

“The situation that has been recorded is that they [Figueroa’s team] arrived later than the pre-arranged time,” Robert Smith, of the Board, told BoxingScene. “[Ball’s trainer] Paul Stevenson, who had three fighters on the bill, requested to move ahead with the wrapping of hands which was approved by the WBA supervisor and the Board inspector. So, there was a representative from the Board and the WBA watching the hands being wrapped.

“This was accepted at the time by Figueroa’s team on the night.”

Figueroa went on to knock out Ball in the 12th and final round. 

“It was a world title fight,” Robles said. “Both parties need to be present. We felt disrespected.”