On Saturday night, WBC welterweight world champion Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) successfully defended his title, winning a split decision against Yordenis Ugas (23-4, 11 KOs). The contest was officiated by experienced referee Jack Reiss.
In the twelfth and final round, Porter went down from what was immediately ruled a slip, no knockdown, by Reiss. Since the bout, Ugas and his team have made statements suggesting that Porter had actually been knocked down and that Reiss made the wrong call.
Reiss spoke exclusively with Boxing.com by phone to discuss the ruling and why he called it the way he did.
With many years of experience officiating the sport, Reiss understands criticism is part of the job. ?It comes with the territory. I accept it. I have nothing but the utmost respect for both fighters.?
Reiss is respected for his highly competent officiating, borne out of many years of experience and intense preparation. He explained what he saw in the moment that led him to rule the Porter-Ugas situation a slip.
?What I saw was Shawn Porter moving along the ropes, backwards, and he had both hands up high,? Reiss said. ?Because Ugas had been slipping that right hand in, Ugas threw a big looping punch, around the gloves, and he hit Porter on the back of the neck.
?The telltale, easy sign for me was: if Ugas had hit him on the side [of the head], on the ear, Porter would?ve fallen towards the ropes. But it was a chopping blow, like a karate chop, on the back of the head?which made Porter?s leg go straight out behind him and he fell straight down.
?Which clearly certified that it was behind the head. If you get hit on the side, you fall to the side. If you get hit on the back, you fall forward, and that?s what happened.
?If you watch the video, especially in slow motion, Porter clearly got hit with a looping punch behind the head. I didn?t call a foul on Ugas because I didn?t think it was intentional. And I didn?t delay it when Porter got up because when he got up I said, ?Are you okay?? and he said, ?Yeah.??
In December, I had the opportunity to sit in on a California State Athletic Commission rules meeting which was conducted by Reiss. Having observed this procedure firsthand, I can attest to the thorough way the commission clarifies the rules and procedures for the fighters and their corners.
Reiss also conducted the rules meeting for Porter vs. Ugas, and he made the same clarifications he normally does.
?In the rules meeting, I said the referee is the sole arbiter but that doesn?t preclude you guys from filing a protest if you feel the referee has violated the rules.?
The veteran referee stressed that he has no problem with a team filing an official complaint over an action he took during a bout.
?If I made a mistake, I?ll take full responsibility for it. Please protest it with the WBC (World Boxing Council). If they feel that it was a knockdown, they can change the [ruling]. I?ve got no problem with that.?
The video below clearly shows the cause of Porter going down in the twelfth round, supporting Reiss? reasoning for the ruling.
