Sampson Lewkowicz argues Sebastian Fundora would have been denied an earned knockout had referee Thomas Taylor allowed Ermal Hadribeaj to finish Saturday’s fight after beating the count.
Fundora’s promoter defended the controversial ending in a press release, citing the rule against being saved by the bell. Hadribeaj got up at nine after a knockdown at the end of the 12th round, but Taylor waved off the fight, awarding Fundora a knockout victory at 2:59.
The ending drew criticism because Hadribeaj had regained his feet and the final bell had sounded. There were no more punches for him to take if Taylor allowed the contest to go to the scorecards.
Lewkowicz believes the referee still had grounds to stop it.
“If the referee ruled the fighter was not fit to continue, and if he would have stopped it immediately if it happened at any other point in the fight, he would be letting Hadribeaj be saved by the bell if he didn’t stop it, regardless of the clock.”
That is Lewkowicz’s defense, although the argument over Taylor’s judgment remains. Critics can agree that a fighter cannot be saved by the bell while questioning whether Hadribeaj’s condition warranted a stoppage after he rose.
“People are saying Hadribeaj was robbed of going the distance. If Thomas Taylor hadn’t waved it off, he would have been robbing Sebastian Fundora of a knockout he earned in the ring. It goes both ways.”
Fundora was ahead 107-100, 109-98 and 108-99, so Hadribeaj was heading toward a wide unanimous decision defeat. The dispute concerns the knockout on his record rather than the winner.
Lewkowicz also said Hadribeaj was taken to the hospital on a stretcher and released the following morning. He cited that as support for Taylor’s decision, saying safety must come first.
Fundora improved to 25-1-1 with 17 knockouts while making his fourth WBC light middleweight title defense. Hadribeaj suffered his first defeat, falling to 23-1-1 with eight knockouts.