In the WBSS cruiserweight semi-final streamed live in the US on DAZN from Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, Saturday night, Riga?s favorite son, Mairis Briedis (26-1, 19 KOs), in an appalling excuse of a fair fight, stopped WBO champion Krzysztof Glowacki (31-2, 19 KOs), the southpaw from Walcz, Poland, 27 seconds into the third round of a scheduled 12, while managing to deep-six the good vibes engendered by Andy Ruiz?s upset of Anthony Joshua two weeks ago.
The vacant WBC cruiserweight title was also supposed to be in the offing, but prior to the bout World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman withdrew his support and issued the following statement:
?The administrators of the World Boxing Super Series tournament have failed to maintain the integrity of the bout, and have disregarded the WBC rules and regulations. The WBC strongly rejects the unfortunate discrimination and abuse of power that has been directed against the integrity of our institution. The WBC will evaluate its continuing participation in the remaining WBSS bouts in Season II, and will announce its decision soon.?
What he knew and when he knew it remain something of a mystery, but the stench of impropriety reached all the way from Latvia to Mexico and Sulaiman, considering what transpired in the ring, did himself and his organization proud by distancing himself from the debacle.
One needn?t be a genius to know in advance that any fight in which Robert Byrd is the referee and his wife, Adalaide Byrd, is one of the judges is a fight that may not be on the up and up. She has proven herself time and again to be one of the most partisan judges in the business, and his ham-handed officiating ought to accelerate his retirement for the good the game and its legitimacy.
Briedis, fighting out of the blue corner in black and red trunks, had the crowd behind him and he apparently could do no wrong. He lost the first round, despite landing a couple of clean shots, but he looked sharp and it appeared we might be in for an action-packed bout.
Fighting out of the red corner in red trunks with white trim, Glowacki entered enemy territory armed to the teeth and determined to win. A victory would secure a spot in the WBSS cruiserweight final and might lead to bigger and better things. But then the bell rang to start round two.
When an orthodox fighter gets it on with a southpaw they frequently collide and collide they did. Fighting on the inside, Glowacki landed a rabbit punch, an illegal punch that is thrown with alarming frequency. Rather than throw a rabbit punch of his own, the usual reaction, Briedis intentionally threw an elbow to Glowacki?s face and he went down as if he?d been shot. A competent referee might have seen the foul. A competent referee might have sprung into action. But Robert Byrd is the opposite of competent. He saw Glowacki on the canvas and had to be told what occurred. Then he deducted a point.
As of this writing, there?s no knowing if Briedis?s elbow to the face did anything more than stun Glowacki. His hand immediately moved to the right side of his face, as though his jaw might had been broken. The bell rang to end the round, but the referee somehow failed to hear it. ?I heard the bell,? Briedis said, as did everyone else, including the officials sitting ringside, who were wildly waving their hands in an effort to get Byrd?s attention so as to keep the men from fighting past the three-minute mark. But precious seconds passed, at least 15 precious seconds, and Briedis dropped Glowacki again, even though the round was long over.
Round three was Glowacki?s Waterloo. Briedis landed a shot to his injured opponent?s head and he went down a third time. Thanks to smelling salts or his wife?s evil eye, Byrd had finally awoken and had the good sense to wave off the fight, declaring Briedis the winner, when a DQ would have been more appropriate.
The crowd, needless to say, went wild at the news. Their man won. How he won, and who helped him win, unintentionally or not, was all that mattered.
