Zablocki Ruling Proved Correct

Ron DiMichele

24.03 - In a recent article posted on ESB regarding the St. Patrick’s Day Massachusetts Junior Welterweight title bout between Jimmy LeBlanc and Kevin Watts, I wrote that referee John Zablocki had missed the call in ruling that a punch caused the cut above the eye of Jimmy LeBlanc and not a head butt. The outcome of the fight had hinged on this ruling.

A replay of the bout aired Sunday, March 23rd on the New England Sports Network channel showed that Zablocki’s ruling was correct and that my assessment of the events was incorrect. There was no head butt. A punch caused the cut. I am sorry to have written that Zablocki made the mistake, when actually it was myself who was in error.

Jimmy LeBlanc was leading on two of the three judge’s scorecards in the eighth round when the ringside doctor stopped the bout due to the severity of a cut above LeBlanc’s right eye. A ruling that the cut was caused by an unintentional head butt would have resulted in a decision in LeBlanc’s favor based on the judge’s scorecards. The TKO victory, deservedly, went to Kevin Watts who replays show caused the cut with a left-hand punch.

Ron DiMichele’s email address is: rondimi@yahoo.com