Sebastian Fundora retained his WBC super welterweight title with a last-second knockout of Ermal Hadribeaj, but another nonsensical refereeing decision left the challenger with a stoppage defeat he should never have received.
Referee Thomas Taylor waved off the contest at 2:59 of the twelfth and final round at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, despite Hadribeaj getting back to his feet after being dropped by a powerful left hand.
The decision immediately sparked controversy, with Terence Crawford claiming the final bell had sounded before Fundora’s punch landed.
“Yeah, I didn’t agree with the stoppage at all. The bell rang before the punch landed,” Crawford said on the PBC broadcast.
“His corner tried to get in the ring. The ref told his corner not to get in the ring. The man got up. He deserved to go to the final bell.”
Another Nonsensical Stoppage
This has happened before, when Oleksandr Usyk fought Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids in Giza. Referee Mark Lyson halted that fight in the eleventh round despite the bell sounding, with Verhoeven denied the chance to come out for the final round.
Verhoeven should have been given that opportunity, the same way Hadribeaj shouldn’t have a stoppage defeat on his record after coming within a wafer-thin margin of the final bell.
The circumstances were different, with Verhoeven stopped in the eleventh round and Hadribeaj in the twelfth, but both decisions came at 2:59 and left fighters on the wrong end of questionable refereeing.
It seems the officials entrusted with these big fights either need a refresher on the rules or coaching in common sense. Either way, it’s not good for the sport or the fighters on the receiving end of these brain farts.
Hadribeaj was heading for a points defeat regardless, but there is a big difference between losing a decision and having a knockout added to your record.
Bradley Challenges Taylor
Former world champion Tim Bradley confronted Taylor afterward and questioned why Hadribeaj had not been allowed to finish the fight.
“He finished that fight. He should have finished that,” Bradley told the referee.
Taylor defended his decision, pointing to Hadribeaj’s condition after the knockdown.
“He fell back in the ropes,” Taylor said during the exchange.
All Taylor had to do once Hadribeaj was on his feet was bang his gloves together, ask him if he was okay and congratulate him on a great world championship effort that he had completed without being stopped.
However, unfathomably, and in the most nonsensical way possible, Taylor waved off the fight when it would have been easier to do the former.
Taylor knew the bell would sound the second he allowed the fight to continue, but ultimately made the wrong choice.
Bradley and Taylor made it clear there was no personal animosity despite their disagreement.
Fundora did nothing wrong. He fought until the end, landed the punch and was awarded the victory. The problem is the referee’s decision, not the champion’s performance.
Hadribeaj has every reason to challenge the knockout on his professional record and seek a review from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Whether the commission would change the result is another matter, but the Albanian has a strong argument for questioning how his first defeat was recorded.
Fundora Retains WBC Title
Fundora improved to 25-1-1 with 17 knockouts after making the fourth successful defense of his world championship.
Hadribeaj entered unbeaten at 23-0-1 and was hoping to become Albania’s first boxing world champion.
The challenger made a competitive start, but Taylor deducted points for holding in rounds three and eleven. Fundora gradually wore him down with uppercuts, body punches and a relentless work rate before the dramatic finish.
“It was dramatic to knock him out at the last second. But we’ll go back to the gym and fix some things,” Fundora said.
The champion also reiterated his ambition to become undisputed at 154 pounds, targeting the winner of a potential unification involving Jaron Ennis and Josh Kelly.
“We’ll break either Jaron Ennis or Josh Kelly down. Just like the last guy and the guy before that. We’ll keep breaking them down,” he said.
Las Vegas Undercard Results
Armando Reséndiz defeated Koen Mazoudier by unanimous decision over ten rounds in their super middleweight contest. The judges scored the fight 98-92 and 97-93 twice.
Unbeaten Marco Romero knocked out Matias Ferreira at 1:54 of the opening round, improving to 16-0 with 14 knockouts. It was Romero’s third consecutive first-round finish.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
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