Boxing: For Lindenmuth, Rosales, it was crazy in Cairo

Pyramids, camels, the Nile, the Great Sphinx … and a really messy prize fight.

Bosque Farms’ Katherine Lindenmuth arrived in Cairo, Egypt expecting to fight Kazakhstani boxer Angelina Lukas on Nov. 14 in nearby, historic Giza for the vacant WBA Gold flyweight (112-pound) title. Lindenmuth had signed a contract stipulating that before she left.

Upon arrival, said Anthony Rosales, Lindenmuth’s trainer, surprise! He and Lindenmuth were informed she’d be fighting for the WBA Gold super flyweight (115-pound) title instead.

That, Rosales said Friday in a phone interview, was his and Lindenmuth’s introduction to a bizarre few days that culminated with her rough-and-tumble victory over Lukas by split decision being declared void — no contest — over confusion about a doping test Lindenmuth says she had been more than willing to undergo but did not until she was back in Albuquerque.

Lindenmuth (7-5, three knockouts, one no contest) returned with a title belt, but, as of now, without a title — and without being paid.

What happens going forward, regarding the title, the paycheck and the outcome of the bout, remains unclear.

The trip, Rosales said, as chaotic as it was, was an experience on which to build.

“We have good times,” he said, “and we have bad times.”

After Lindenmuth signed a new contract to fight at 115 pounds — a weight heavier than any at which she had fought before — the bad times continued to roll.

On fight day, Rosales said, he haggled with promoter Teryal Jafarov — who also is Lukas’ trainer — over what gloves would be used.

Lindenmuth was offered a pair of Rival brand gloves that, Rosales said, were unacceptable. “If you put your hand in them, you could feel the knuckles in the glove,” he said.

Jafarov “went ballistic” over the gloves issue, Rosales said, before it was settled about an hour and a half after it began. Ultimately, each fighter wore gloves provided by a disinterested party.

Then came fight night.

From the outset, Rosales said, he and Lindenmuth were made to feel unwelcome. Lukas had never fought in Egypt before, but she clearly was the home team.

Rosales compared the tension in the arena with the scene in “Rocky IV” when Rocky Balboa enters the ring in the Soviet Union to fight Ivan Drago.

“It was exactly like that for us,” he said.

Rosales knew going in, he said, that Lukas would do as much wrestling as boxing.

“She always does that,” he said.

A YouTube video of the bout shows Lukas regularly applying headlocks, looping an arm around Lindenmuth’s neck and/or locking up one of Lindenmuth’s arms in the crook of her elbow.

The referee warned Lukas about holding several times in the second round and occasionally in later rounds, but never penalized her.

Jafarov, who co-promoted the card with Cairo promoter Richard Nwoba, worked Lukas’ corner throughout the fight.

It should be noted that Lukas did land some effective punches, as she herself displayed in an “Angelina’s greatest hits” video she put on Instagram on Monday.

As for the decision, the YouTube video was jerky; that and all the clinches made the bout difficult to score off the video. But, when Lindenmuth’s hands were free, or even when only one hand was available thanks to Lukas’ holding, she was her usual energetic self — applying pressure and landing shots to the head and the body.

It appeared Lindenmuth was the fresher and more effective fighter in the final three rounds, and that the two official scorecards that favored her — 96-94 on each — were a fair representation.

The third scorecard, 98-92 for Lukas, seemed an outlier.

After Lindenmuth’s hand was raised, Rosales said, the anger in the arena directed at him and Lindenmuth was palpable.

The hostility was such, Rosales said, that he and Lindenmuth were advised to leave the arena immediately. They returned to their hotel with the title belt she believed she had won fairly.

That night, he said, Jafarov came to the hotel and tried to get Lindenmuth to sign a contract for a rematch in February in Kazakhstan. Lindenmuth and Rosales, who both have out-of-the-ring commitments at home, declined.

Then, Rosales said (Jafarov) dropped a bomb on us and said, “‘You guys didn’t do your doping test.’ And we’re like ‘Oh, shoot.’”

Lukas posted on social media that she underwent a doping test, though she didn’t say when.In New Mexico, the New Mexico Athletic Commission conducts post-bout drug testing for all title fights.

In a news release issued Monday, Lindenmuth said she underwent testing administered by the NMAC soon after arriving home. It’s not clear if the WBA, or the Egyptian commission, would recognize results of a test conducted that long after an event.

Lindenmuth said she has never used performance-enhancing drugs or any banned substance.

“We run a clean gym,” said Rosales, who has trained boxing/martial arts for decades.