The Knockdown That Reached the IBF

Russell Mora ruled the punch a knockdown. Joseph Agbeko was on his knees, arguing that the shot had landed low, while Abner Mares was directed to a neutral corner. It happened in the 11th round at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The Associated Press report said Agbeko lost a key point when Mora ruled the blow a punch to Agbeko's groin. The ruling fixed the exchange in the fight's accounting, though the reports did not resolve the dispute over the blow.

Mares had already been warned several times for low blows. The reports vary on the exact count, but describe repeated warnings. Mora did not deduct a point for the fouls described in the coverage. The Las Vegas Sun noted that he did not use the common procedure of deducting a penalty point. The referee had warned Mares, but the warnings had not changed the score. The 11th-round ruling changed what the disputed sequence meant on the card.

On August 13, 2011, Mares defeated Agbeko by majority decision. That was the official result reported in the fight coverage. Agbeko's argument remained attached to it: he said he had been hit low, while Mora had ruled the sequence a knockdown. The decision closed the contest in the records, but it left the referee's two choices—warnings without a deduction, then a knockdown ruling—at the center of the result.

Agbeko wanted Mora banned from the sport. Bad Left Hook reported the statement as the fighter's response to the officiating. It was a demand directed at the referee, not a ruling by the federation or the commission. The call had already cost Agbeko a key point in the AP's description of the round; now the complaint put Mora's conduct beside the championship result and forced the officials above the ring to address it.

The IBF letter said its officials reviewed the bout before ordering an immediate rematch between Agbeko and Mares. The review was identified as the work of IBF Championships Chairman Lindsey Tucker and IBF President Daryl J. Peoples. The letter said the bout was governed by IBF/USBA Rule 3. D and that inappropriate conduct by the referee affected the outcome. The federation's response turned the disputed call into an order binding the two fighters to another fight.

That order put the next fight on a timetable. If the bout was not negotiated by September 15, 2011, the IBF said it would call for a purse bid to determine who would promote it. The rematch deadline was December 14, 2011. Fox Sports reported that Mares' promoter, Golden Boy, could vacate the IBF title and keep the WBC silver bantamweight title. The question was no longer only what Mora had seen; it was who would control the next fight and the titles connected to it.

Mora's position narrowed after the ruling. Bad Left Hook reported that Nevada Athletic Commission chief Keith Kizer said Mora would be 'rehabbed' and would not officiate major fights in the near future. That was reported as Kizer's comment, not a formal disciplinary order. Agbeko had asked for a ban. The IBF had said referee conduct affected the outcome. In the near future, Mora would not be working the major fights.