This weekend Regis Prograis faced off against Ivan Redkatch in the Triller Fight Club co-main event.
Prograis dominated the fight until the bizarre ending where a low blow was called following a punch that looked like it hit nowhere near the groin.
Redkatch writhed around in purported pain before being carried out on a stretcher. The blow was ruled accidental and the bout went to the judges scorecards who handed Prograis a unanimous technical decision.
The immediate reaction of many was to question the low-blow call itself. However Georgia rules themselves dictate a different result should take place (whether or not the low blow call was misguided). Georgia, like many jurisdictions, has a rule on the books that if a fighter cannot continue following a purported low blow they lose. Georgia’s official low blow stoppage rule reads as follows:
Bout Stopped by Low Blow: Decision. Except as provided in sub-paragraph (4)(a)15. [unsportsmanlike conduct] of this rule, no contestant injured by a low blow may be awarded the contest.
| If a contestant falls to the ring floor or otherwise indicates an unwillingness to continue because of a claim of a low-blow, he shall be declared the loser by a technical knockout. |
I pointed this out and and a member of BoxRec, the official record keeper for professional boxing recognized by the Association of Boxing Commissions, shared this concern and refused to enter the technical decision victory on the books until hearing directly from the Georgia regulator.
This morning Georgia confirmed to BoxRec that a mistake has been made and the result is officially being recorded as a TKO victory for Prograis. All’s well that end’s well, even though sometimes the scenic route has to be taken to get there.
Combat Sports Law 