WBO Championship Committee Resolution WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contest Krzysztof Glowacki vs. Mairis Briedis

The present ruling is issued upon an official complaint filed on Monday, June 17th 2019, by Promoter Mr. Andrew Wasilewski on behalf of WBO Participant Mr. Krzysztof Glowacki regarding the WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contest against Mr. Mairis Briedis held on Saturday, June 15th 2019, at the Arena Riga, Latvia, as part of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) Tournament Semi-Finals. Petitioner contends in essence, that upon events transpired during the bout and in consideration of numerous errors of the applicable rules of boxing executed by the appointed referee Mr. Robert Byrd, the resolution of the foregoing contest was substantially irregular and therefore, Mr. Briedis should be disqualified, suspended and the official bout result be overturned and/or reversed and declared a “No Contest”.

The WBO World Championship Committee has thoroughly reviewed and examined video of the aforementioned contest, having considered the arguments submitted by all parties, having reviewed the applicable World Boxing Super Series Tournament (WBSS) governing Rules and Regulations, and having reviewed our WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests, their applicability, and enforcement in this matter, and having been fully advised in the premises, it is hereby determined as follows:

WHEREAS, on Friday, October 3rd 2008, WBO Participant Glowacki debuted professionally defeating Mr. Mariusz Radziszewski via Unanimous Decision (UD); bout held at the Hotel U Pietrzakow, Lipowa, Zielonka, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, August 18th 2012, WBO Participant Glowacki won the Vacant WBO Jr. Heavyweight Inter-Continental Championship Title against Mr. Felipe Romero via Technical Knockout (TKO) in round six (6); bout held at the Amfiteatr, Miedzyzdroje, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, November 17th 2012, WBO Participant Glowacki successfully defended his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Inter-Continental Championship Title against Mr. Matty Askin via Knock Out (KO) in round eleven (11); bout held at the Hilton Warsaw Hotel, Warsaw, Poland; and

WHEREAS, on Saturday, December 14th 2013, WBO Participant Glowacki successfully defended his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title against Mr. Varol Vekiloglu via Technical Knockout (TKO) in round nine (9); bout held in Walcz, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, October 18th 2014, WBO Participant Glowacki continued successfully defending his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Inter-Continental Championship Title against Mr. Thierry Karl via Knock Out (KO) in round five (5); bout held at Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, January 31st 2015, WBO Participant Glowacki again was successful in his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Title defense against Mr. Nuri Serefi via Unanimous Decision (UD); bout held in Torun, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, January 31st 2015, WBO Participant defeated then- former WBO European Jr. Heavyweight Champion Mr. Nuri Serefi via Unanimous Decision (UD); bout held in Torun, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, on Friday, August 14th 2015, WBO Participant Glowacki won the WBO World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title defeating then-former champion Mr. Marco Huck via Technical Knockout (TKO) in round eleven (11); bout held at the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, April 16th 2016, WBO Participant made his first WBO World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title defense against then-contender Mr. Steve Cunningham, winning via Unanimous Decision (UD); bout held at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA; and,

WHEREAS, on Saturday, September 17th 2016, WBO Participant Glowacki lost his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title against former Undisputed Jr. Heavyweight World Champion Mr. Oleksandr Usyk via Unanimous Decision (UD); bout held at the Ergo Arena, Plac Dwóch Miast 1, Gdańsk, Poland; and,

WHEREAS, thereafter, WBO Participant Glowacki won four (4) consecutive fights seeking world championship contention and on Saturday, November 10th 2018, WBO Participant Glowacki became a two-time WBO Jr. Heavyweight Champion upon winning the WBO Interim version defeating then-contender Mr. Maxim Vlasov via Unanimous Decision (UD); bout held at the UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, USA; and,

WHEREAS, the World Boxing Organization received official sanction request from the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) Tournament seeking authorization that the WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title be at stake during the Semi-Finals between WBO reigning champion WBO Participant Glowacki and then-former Unified World Champion Mr. Mairis Breidis, scheduled for Saturday, June 15th 2019, at Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia; and

WHEREAS, the WBO World Championship Committee granted the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) Tournament approval for hosting the WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contest between WBO Participant Glowacki and Mairis Briedis to be held under their WBSS governing rules and regulations. The WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests would be enforced supplementary with the WBSS governing rules; and,

WHEREAS, on Thursday, June 6th 2019, this Committee issued official sanction letter notifying all interested parties from the WBSS Tournament via email; and

WHEREAS, on Saturday, June 15th 2019, The WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contest between WBO Champion Participant Glowacki and Mr. Briedis was held in Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia; and,

WHEREAS, during the course of the bout specifically, in round two (2), with thirty nine seconds (0:39) to finalized the round, WBO Participant Glowacki commits a clear intentional foul by hitting behind the head (Rabbit Punch) of Mr. Briedis who immediately, responded by committing an intentional foul by hitting WBO Participant Glowacki with an elbow to his face and consequently, WBO Participant Glowacki went down on the canvas various seconds until Referee Robert Byrd instructed said fighter to stand up and head to the neutral corner without any consideration of a recovery period. Thereafter, Referee Byrd executed a one (1) point deduction to Mr. Briedis for the intentional foul (elbow); and,

WHEREAS, following the point deduction, Referee Bryd resumes the action and with only twenty-one (21) seconds to finalize round two (2) Briedis hurts WBO Participant Glowacki with a fair blow which stunned WBO Participant Glowacki and when the bell rings signifying the end of round two (2), apparently, said referee could not hear the bell, and immediately then, each respective corner stood on the ring apron indicating that the round had finished, local commission representatives raised their hands waving off as an indication to the referee that the round had terminated, however, both WBO Participants continued fighting and exchanging punches for numerous seconds after the bell had rung; and,

WHEREAS, as a result of both WBO Participants continued exchange of punches after the competition of round two (2), Mr. Briedis landed a right hand to WBO Participant Glowacki’s face suffering a knockdown. Referee Byrd executed the mandatory eight (8) count and after examining WBO Participant Glowacki and asking him if he wanted to continue, WBO Participant Glowacki responded affirmative and Referee Byrd seemed to resume the action until acknowledging that the round had concluded; and,

WHEREAS, immediately thereafter, Referee Byrd executed extended both hands and arms above his head in a criss-cross manner indicating the official stoppage of the bout. Each WBO Participants’ corner entered the ring meanwhile Referee Byrd went to the Latvia Boxing Federation (Local Commission) Officials’ Table and expressed that he had not heard the bell rang; and,

WHEREAS, a second of WBO Participant Glowacki questioned Referee Byrd’s actions, however, said Referee instructed the second to exit the ring. Again, Referee Byrd addressed the local boxing commission official and ordered ringing the bell. Thereafter, Referee Byrd collected the official scorecards of round two (2) and delivered them to the local boxing commission accordingly; and,

WHEREAS, Referee Byrd ordered the commencement of round three (3) and both fighters began exchanging punches until WBO Participant Briedis landed a right hand to the face of WBO Participant Glowacki within the first twenty-one (21) seconds of round three (3), suffering WBO Participant Glowacki a knockdown. Immediately thereafter, Referee Byrd commenced the mandatory eight (8) count whereby WBO Participant Glowacki stood up at the count of five (5), however clearly physically unstable causing Referee Byrd to wave off the fight and stopping it immediately; and,

WHEREAS, the official bout result was declared a Technical Knockout (TKO) in round three (3) in favor of WBO Participant Briedis. WBO Participant Briedis was declared the new WBO Jr. Heavyweight Champion of the World; and,

WHEREAS, during the post-fight interview of WBO Participant Briedis, he was asked what happened in round two (2) and he stated that during the course of the round, WBO Participant Glowacki had illegally punched the back of his head (Rabbit Punch) and the referee had not taken any action against WBO Participant Glowacki and therefore, he intentionally hit WBO Participant Glowacki with an elbow. Further, WBO Participant Briedis was questioned regarding if he had heard the bell rang at the end of round two (2) and answered that he in fact had heard the bell; and,

WHEREAS, on Monday, June 17th 2019, the WBO acknowledge receipt of an email communication whereby Promoter Mr. Andrew Wasilewski on behalf of WBO Participant Glowacki filed an official complaint via email regarding the WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contest against WBO Participant Briedis in light of the aforementioned events transpired during the bout and consequently, requested WBO Participant Briedis be disqualified and suspended. Lastly, requested that the official bout result be reversed and declared as a “No Contest”; and,

WHEREAS, on Tuesday, June 18th 2019, the WBO acknowledge receipt of an email communication submitted by Mr. Raimond Zeps on behalf of WBO Participant Briedis stating in essence, that WBO Participant Glowacki was repeatedly intentionally hitting WBO Participant Glowacki in the back of his head and WBO Participant Briedis’ reaction of hitting WBO Participant Glowacki with his elbow was used to push said participant back. Further, Mr. Zeps contends that both fouls committed by each WBO Participant are arguable equally punishable. Furthermore, asserts that WBO Participant Glowacki was not significantly hurt as upon resuming the fight seemed able, fit and ready. Also, argues that Referee Byrd deducted only one (1) point to WBO Participant Briedis and such action was deemed satisfactory and that WBO Participant Glowacki should have also been subject to a point deduction. Moreover, argues that WBO Participant Briedis should not be punished of his actions in round two (2) with respect to the continued exchange of punches between each WBO Participant as the referee did not hear the bell and each WBO Participant simply continued fighting. Lastly, argues that none of the WBO Participants gained an advantage
upon the entering the ring by their respective cornermen rather it simply meant indicating to the referee that the round had ended; and,

WHEREAS, Mr. Zeps on behalf of WBO Participant Briedis affirms and welcomes a rematch against WBO Participant Glowacki after the completion of the World Boxing Super Series Tournament (WBSS); and,

WHEREAS, on Friday, June 21st 2019, this Committee issued an official notice via email to all WBO Participants (Team Glowacki, Team Briedis, World Boxing Super Series Tournament Officials and the Latvian Boxing Federation) ordering all parties to submit no later than Monday, July 1st 2019, no later than 4:00 p.m. EST, any statements, affidavits, reports, summaries, compilations, press reports, or other evidence or documents which the affected WBO participants want the Committee to consider. The submittal shall include a clear and specific summary of response to it, reasons and arguments upon which it is based, with a clear statement from the Complainant of the relief the complainant is seeking and from whom and a response on behalf of Mairis Briedis to that complaint and the relief sought on behalf of Krzyzstof Glowacki, and shall have attached clear and legible copies of all documents, reports, precedents or other materials relevant to the request; and,

WHEREAS, on Thursday, June 27th 2019, the WBO acknowledge receipt of an email communication by Promoter Mr. Andrew Wasilewski on behalf of WBO Participant Glowacki whereby he requested an additional one-week extension to comply with our June 21st 2019 order. This Committee granted said request and set forth a final submittal deadline for July 3rd 2019 at 4:00 p.m. EST; and,

WHEREAS, on Wednesday, July 3rd 2019, the WBO acknowledge receipt of an email communication by Mr. Jacek Szelagowski on behalf of Promoter Wasilewski on behalf of WBO Participant Glowacki. Mr. Szelagowski’s seeks WBO Participant Briedis be disqualified for the admitted deliberate and intentional illegal elbow committed against WBO Participant Glowacki and that such action ultimately led to the end of the bout in benefit of WBO Participant Briedis. Further contends that even if WBO Participant Briedis is not disqualified for the intentional elbow, he should be disqualified for actions in knocking WBO Participant Glowacki down again almost a full 10 seconds after the bell ending round 2, or for his corner being in the ring before the knockdown even if the punch after the bell was somehow ruled to be legal; and,

WHEREAS, all interested parties submitted their respective arguments and positions, all of which were carefully examined, reviewed and considered by this Committee. Therefore, in light of the foregoing, this Committee has full authority as per our WBO Rules and Regulations of World Championship Contests to resolve any and all matters with the following being within our powers and discretion, and shall be interpreted to include any or all powers necessary, helpful or convenient to accomplish the purpose, policies and the intent of these rules; and,

WHEREAS, the World Boxing Organization lacks subject matter jurisdiction to disqualify WBO Participant Briedis for any and all actions incur by such fighter during the course of the bout against WBO Participant Glowacki. Such ruling and/or determination lies under the authority and jurisdiction of the Latvia Boxing Federation; and,

WHEREAS, the World Boxing Organization lacks subject matter jurisdiction and authority to issue a suspension on WBO Participant Briedis regardless of his actions during the course of the bout against WBO Participant Glowacki. The Latvian Boxing Federation which grants a professional boxing license to WBO Participant Briedis constitutes the entity with jurisdiction and authority to issue a suspension on a professional boxer participating under their jurisdiction and in accordance with their rules and regulations; and,

WHEREAS, the World Boxing Organization lacks subject matter jurisdiction and authority to reverse and/or overturn an official bout result of Technical Knockout (TKO) to a “No Contest”. Such discretion lies within the jurisdiction and authority of the Latvian Boxing Federation; and,

WHEREAS, the Latvian Boxing Federation has the sole discretion to determine and issue any and all rulings regarding the protest of the aforementioned boxing contest held under their authority and jurisdiction; and,

WHEREAS, the World Boxing Organization issued sanction of the WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contests between WBO Participant Glowacki and WBO Participant Briedis subject to both participants be bound and governed by the rules and regulations of the World Boxing Super Series Tournament (WBSS); and,

WHEREAS, specifically, rule 1 of the World Boxing Super Series Tournament Rules and Regulations, states as follows:

I. Application

“ The World of Boxing Super Series Rules of Boxing apply to all bouts of the WBSS Tournament which shall also be governed by the rules of the local boxing commission where the contest is being held (hereinafter call ed “Bout ” or “Tournament Bout ”). All bouts are promoted by Comosa or its designee . In the event of an inconsistency between a rule of the local commission and one contain ed herein, and Comosa has agreed to proceed with the bout being a Comosa – sanctioned bout, the local boxing commission shall be responsible for the enforcement of its own rules and regulations, and Comosa shall reserve its right to take appropriate actions or decisions to resolve any controversy as it may deem necessary and appropriate . Any violation of these WBSS Rules of Boxing may cause a boxer to be disqualified and/or suspended from the Tournament or be subject to fines and other Tournament related disciplinary action s at Comosa ’s sole discretion . In any case, no boxer, manager, promoter, etc. can cla im a lack of knowledge of these and all other WBSS Rules and Regulations, as they are posted on the Internet website at www.WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com and available from Comosa upon request. ”

WHEREAS, the World Boxing Super Series Tournament Rules and Regulations supersede the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests. Our Regulations are to applied and enforced supplementary and therefore, any and all claims, complaints and/or grievances related with a professional boxing match held under the jurisdiction of the Latvian Boxing Federation and in accordance with the World Boxing Super Series Tournament Rules and Regulations, shall be directly referred to the latter governing entities; and,

WHEREAS, however, this Committee acknowledges that a clear misapplication of the rules of boxing occurred. Under such circumstances, Section 18 of the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests provides in relevant, as follows:

“The WBO shall not allow direct return fights, unless recommended by the World Championship Committee and authorized by the Executive Committee.If the World Championship Committee determines either that the resolution of a Championship Contest was substantially irregular, or that there was a clear misapplication of the rules of boxing resulting in a manifest unfairness, such that in either case the World Championship Committee determines that the Championship was substantially unresolved, the World Championship Committee may, in its discretion, recommend a direct return fight, which may be authorized only by the majority vote of the Executive Committee.”

WHEREAS, this Committee having considered the events transpired during the WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Contests, having identified the numerous violations of the rules and standards of professional boxing in conjunction with the applicable World Boxing Super Series Tournament Rules and Regulations, and supplementary WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests; determines that the proper forum to address, submit and request the reliefs stated herein by WBO Participant Glowacki, shall be directly referred to the authority with jurisdiction over said matters the Latvian Boxing Federation in conjunction with the World Boxing Super Series Tournament officials; and,

WHEREAS, notwithstanding, this Committee strongly recommends that the winner of the World Boxing Super Series Tournament defends his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title within one-hundred twenty days (120) after the competition of said tournament against WBO Participant Glowacki; and,

WHEREAS, this ruling is subject to acceptance by the World Boxing Super Series Tournament within the following forty-eight (48) hours upon official issuance of this Resolution. If the World Boxing Super Series Tournament Officials do not accept and/or reject this Committees’ ruling, we shall determine a further ruling in accordance to our WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests; and,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the WBO Championship Committee pursuant to the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests as follows:

The WBO World Championship Committee hereby strongly recommends that the winner of the World Boxing Super Series Tournament defends his WBO Jr. Heavyweight Championship Title against WBO Participant Glowacki within one-hundred twenty days (120) after the competition of said tournament. This Committees’ ruling is subject to acceptance by the World Boxing Super Series Tournament within the following forty-eight (48) hours upon official issuance of this Resolution. If the World Boxing Super Series Tournament Officials do not accept and/or reject this Committees’ ruling, we shall determine a further ruling in accordance to our WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests; and,

This is a final decision of the WBO Championship Committee. The affected WBO participant may appeal such determination to the Complaint and Grievance Committee as per Rule 34, which as per Rule 3(e) of the WBO Appeals Regulation, must be submitted in writing to the WBO President within fourteen (14) days of this decision as its sole and exclusive remedy.

Dated in San Juan, Puerto Rico on this 4th day of July 2019
WBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COMMITTEE

By: Luis Batista Salas, Esq. Chairman Championship Committee