Sebastian Fundora vs Ermal Hadribeaj: promoter backs final-second stoppage

Lewkowicz, Sebastian Fundora's promoter, says referee Thomas Taylor was right to wave off the fight with one second left. Fundora led 107-100, 109-98 and 108-99 when it ended.

Sebastian Fundora's promoter, Lewkowicz, has defended referee Thomas Taylor's decision to stop Fundora's win over Ermal Hadribeaj at 2:59 of the 12th and final round, arguing that letting the Albanian continue would have meant saving him by the bell.

Hadribeaj got up at the count of nine after a knockdown, but Taylor judged him unfit to carry on and ended the fight immediately. The official result is a 12th-round knockout for Fundora. Many people said after the fight that Hadribeaj should have been allowed to go the distance because he had made it back to his feet.

Lewkowicz said the rules do not allow a fighter to be saved by the bell in any round, including the 12th. He argued that if Taylor would have stopped the fight at any other point, he had to stop it regardless of how little time remained. He said: “That was the right thing to do for a fighter who is not in shape to keep fighting.” Lewkowicz added: “If Thomas Taylor hadn’t waved it off, he would have been robbing Sebastian Fundora of a knockout he earned in the ring.” He also said: “It goes both ways.” Fundora was ahead on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped, leading 107-100, 109-98 and 108-99.

Lewkowicz said Hadribeaj was so badly hurt that he was taken to hospital on a stretcher after the fight, and was released the following morning. He said safety had to come before everything else in boxing.

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