Bates took charge of the MF Pro main event at London’s O2 Arena but was heavily criticized for some of his actions during the 12 rounds.
Wilder claimed he was hit in the back of the head by Chisora “10-12 times” and insisted that Bates, a highly experienced official from Surrey, England, should be struck off.
“I just hope and pray the boxing commissions, the people, do something about these things,” Wilder said during his post-fight press conference. “That referee shouldn’t be allowed to ref again.”
The fight took place under the auspices of the British Boxing Board of Control and now its general secretary, Robert Smith, has told the Ring they were satisfied with Bates’ performance.
A board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday when all performances will be reviewed as normal, but Smith insists that they will take no action against Bates, who they believe handled a difficult fight competently.
Aside from Chisora’s alleged rabbit punches, one of the main moments of contention took place in the first round when the pair was unable to be separated while they lay on the ropes punching each other.
At that point, a member of Chisora’s corner team, Alexis Demetriades, entered the ring which, by the letter of the law, should have resulted in an immediate disqualification.
However, Smith was satisfied that Bates used his discretion to allow the fight to continue after reminding Demetriades of his conduct. He also said a second similar breach would have definitely resulted in disqualification for the home favorite.
Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel outlined that moment as one of five major errors made by Bates during the fight, which eventually ended in a split decision for the Bronze Bomber.
Finkel said: “One, if your corner enters the ring, it’s an automatic disqualification. Number two, if you’re knocked out of the ring you have 20 seconds to get in but you’re not allowed to be helped by your corner. Number three, if you get hit and you’re falling but you grab the rope, it’s an automatic eight-count. Number four, if you get hit after the bell, it’s the ref’s discretion to take a point off. Number five, when Derek stepped back and touched his eye, that’s not allowed. You either stop the fight or you don’t interfere. These are the rules of the game. I’m glad my guy won because I thought he was going to get robbed.”
