We all saw on slow-motion replay what appeared to be a devastating low blow by Abner Mares in the 11th round of his fight against Joseph Agbeko on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Should officials have used that evidence to right the wrong that most observers believe occurred in that fight?
The answer, said Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Directior Keith Kizer, is no.
Nevada allows its referees the use of instant replay but not to determine whether a punch is legal and never during the fight.
?The instant replay rule is only used in the case of fight-ending injuries,? Kizer told RingTV.com on Monday. ?We haven?t had to use it yet, but it?s reserved for instances when a bad cut or a swollen eye ends a fight and the referee isn?t sure if the injury was the result of accidental head butt or a legal punch. If replays show what caused the injury, that obviously effects the outcome of the bout.?
Could the guidelines under which instant replay is used be expanded to address such things as low blows in Nevada? Could officials have simply watched a replay of the 11th-round low blow between rounds and reversed referee Russel Mora?s ruling (which may have allowed Agbeko to keep his bantamweight title)?
Not likely.
The Nevada commission does not believe a referee?s decision should be reviewed after fighting has resumed ? even between rounds ? because to do so could mislead a fighter, who might base his strategy on the ref?s initial call, Kizer told RingTV.com in a previous interview.
?Let?s say Fighter A believes he wins two of the first three rounds of a four-round fight. In the final round, Fighter B puts Fighter A down but it?s ruled a slip. The fight appears to end in a draw. However, after the final bell, it?s determined by review that the slip was actually a knockdown, giving Fighter B a one-point victory.
Fighter A could then say, ?Had I known I was down a point, I would?ve had more incentive to risk slugging it out,?? Kizer said.
One option would be to call time out at the time of the disputed call. However, Kizer said that would radically alter the nature and rhythm of boxing, which is three minutes of fighting, one minute rest.
With or without instant replay, most fans could plainly see that Mares was landing too many low blows and borderline punches without being penalized.
Kizer agrees that Mora should have taken a point from Mares after sufficient warning and he says the referee realizes that he missed too many low blows — including the pivotal shot to the groin in the 11th round — after reviewing the entire 12-round bout on Sunday.
?Mora told me that the punch (he thought caused a legal knockdown in the 11th round) was definitely a low blow,? Kizer said. ?Mora also said that he should have deducted a point from Mares prior to the 11th round. He said there was a point during the 10th round where he was close to doing so, where he almost deducted a point, but didn?t.
