| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for New Zealand | ||
| Men's Boxing | ||
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Bronze | 1974 Christchurch | Light-middleweight |
Lance Revill (born 30 August 1953) is the current president of the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA),[1] a New Zealand boxing promoter, referee, and a former New Zealand professional boxer. Revill compiled a professional record of 21 wins and 13 losses, with 13 knockouts, in light heavyweight bouts fought in New Zealand and Australia between 1974 and 1990.
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Revill represented New Zealand as an amateur boxer at the Commonwealth Games and won the bronze medal in the men's light middleweight division. Revill won the New Zealand light heavyweight boxing title in 1979 and the New Zealand heavyweight boxing title in 1988, and was 2-4 overall in national title bouts. Revill is best remembered for two professional bouts in 1989. The first, in a bout Revill was ruled to have lost in the second round, took place in Auckland, New Zealand, on 27 February 1989, as Revill, fighting at a career high 198 pounds, injured an arm when the ring collapsed. The other, Revill's best performance, took place on 24 May 1989, in New South Wales, Australia. In Revill's only ring appearance outside of New Zealand, Revill lost a 12 round split decision to Apollo Sweet in a bout for the vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) and OPBF cruiserweight titles.[2][3]
Lance was born in Auckland, where he resides with his wife Denise. The couple has four children: Lance Jacob Jake) Revill, Lisa Ann Hohneck, Tanya Colleen Revill and Kylie Denise Bell. Kylie is listed as an official of the NZPBA on their website.[4]
On 2 February 2008, in Cebu City, Philippines, Lance Revill refereed the Z Gorres-Vic Darchinyan IBF Super Flyweight title eliminator. Gorres slipped to the canvas in the first round, ruled a knockdown by Revill, triggering a bottle throwing melee from the pro-Filipino crowd for the first two rounds. Gorres knocked down Darchinyan in the second, but when Darchinyan knocked down Gorres in the fifth, referee Revill ruled it a slip. Darchinyan spent the entire bout pushing and shoving Gorres, with Gorres[5] thrown to the canvas a number of times. A head butt by Darchinyan cut the forehead of Gorres in the sixth round. Referee Revill never penalized Darchinyan during the bout, and the bloody head cut of Gorres continued to bleed profusely for the remainder of the bout without the ringside physician being called in to examine the wound. Darchinyan knocked down Gorres a number of times in the last three rounds, ruled slips by Revill. The bout resulted in a draw. After the bout, even Darchinyan's promoter, Gary Shaw of New Jersey based Gary Shaw Productions, called for the permanent banning of referee Revill from professional boxing after the fight, as did some individuals at ringside, calling referee Revill's performance the worst they had ever witnessed.[6][7] However admonished, Revill was not to blame as he was not the intended referee, but a late substitute for Australian referee John Wright. No rematch of Darychinyan-Gorres occurred, as Z Gorres retired from boxing due to injuries sustained in a 2009 bout.
On 28 August 2010, a bout which was the main event of a fight card promoted by Lance Revill in Pakuranga, New Zealand, resulted in yet another controversy involving Revill. The main event bout between heavyweights Hassan Chitsaz and John Ellis Jr., arranged by Las Vegas boxing promoter John Ellis Sr. of South Bay Promotions (the father of John Ellis Jr.), was announced in the ring by the ring announcer before the bout as a World Professional Boxing Federation vacant international heavyweight title bout, at six rounds. According to an official reply sent to the New Zealand Boxing Association dated 6 September 2010, World Professional Boxing Federation President David Young stated that the six (6) rounds bout between Hassan Chitsaz and John Ellis Jr. was never officially sanctioned by WPBF President Mr. David Young as a WPBF Inter-Continental or International Title, who also stated WPBF ruled mandate all title bouts at 12 rounds. According to Mr. Young, "The WPBF hereby specially cerify that the six (6) rounds bout between Hassan Chitsaz and John Ellis Jr. for the WPBF title has not been officially approved and sanctioned by the WPBF President. Notice is hereby given." As the bout was misrepresented as a title bout to both the NZPBA and boxer Chitsaz (who traveled from California to New Zealand only for a 12 round WPBF title bout), the circumstances and outcome of the bout are currently under appeal and review by Mr. Chitsaz with NZPBA official Kylie Revill Bell and the WPBF.[8] In addition, Chitsaz was never paid for the bout and pursued legal action.