Something extremely rare happened this last weekend at the Lomachenko-Campbell night fight.
WBC flyweight world champion Charlie Edwards (15-1) and faced his mandatory challenger Julio Cesar Martinez (14-1) in one of the prelims before the big show in London. Edwards, strong bookmakers favorite, was caught off guard in the third round and got knocked down and eventually, KO’d. For several minutes the world had a new world champion, but it turned out it wasn’t meant to be.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman intervened the joy of of his fellow countryman, announcing that the result of the bout is being overturned to “No Contest” thanks to WBC instant replay rule which showed that the last punch Martinez landed was illegal due to the fact that Edwards was already on the ground with one of his knees.
SkySportsBoxing "DECISION CHANGED TO NO CONTEST!
WBC champion Mauricio Sulaiman has taken to the mic and informed us that it was an illegal finishing blow, the fight is a no contest!
Edwards keeps his belt! pic.twitter.com/JrVnmuzWM3"
— Boxing Today (@Boxing_Today) August 31, 2019
Julio Cesar Martinez’s defeat of Charlie Edwards has now been changed to a NO CONTEST after this punch landed as Edwards was on a knee. pic.twitter.com/OO06fKIYtv
— Heavy Bag Boxing (@HeavyBagBoxing) August 31, 2019
There is no denying that the hit was late, but many asked the right questions – would that happen if Edwards was not on the receiving end or if the clash had taken place in Mexico. Sulaiman ordered a rematch between the pair, but there are rumors that Edwards will be vacating his belt in order to move up in a different weight division.
