WBA Upholds Schofield's Win Over Bahdi, Denies Rematch

The World Boxing Association has upheld Floyd Schofield's unanimous decision victory over Lucas Bahdi and denied a request for an immediate rematch, the sanctioning body said in a Nov. 11 ruling on a protest filed by Most Valuable Promotions under Rule C.25.

Schofield won the vacant WBA lightweight title on Oct. 10 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The Officials Committee reviewed the fight with seven international referees and an independent panel of judges, focusing on the third, sixth, ninth and 11th rounds and how those sequences affected the official cards, the WBA said in its written release.

All seven referees agreed that the referee missed two legitimate knockdowns of Schofield from Bahdi punches in the sixth and ninth rounds, the WBA said. On a knockdown of Bahdi near the ropes in the third, four of the seven referees supported the original call, and the committee let that ruling stand. Schofield's fall in the 11th was judged a stumble after he stepped on Bahdi's foot, not the result of a legal punch, and should not have been scored a knockdown.

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The committee then rescored the sixth and ninth rounds as 10-8 rounds for Bahdi. Even with those adjustments, the WBA said, two of the three original scorecards still had Schofield winning and the third became a draw. An independent panel of judges, it added, also did not produce a majority win for Bahdi: some judges still had Schofield winning, one had the Canadian ahead, and the majority scored the bout a draw.

The organization called the officiating errors significant and below the standard expected in a world title fight, but said they were not enough to change the result. Schofield remains WBA lightweight champion. The rematch request was denied, and the referee's performance was referred for administrative review and possible measures on future assignments.

WBA president Gilberto Mendoza put it more briefly, The Ring's Hans Themistode reported: "The referee missed two knockdowns, but even counting them, Bahdi did not win. Schofield remains champion. No rematch."

The Ring also reported that Schofield, 20-0 (13 KOs), is hoping to make a unification next and that WBO champion Abdullah Mason remains his primary target. That is The Ring's account of Schofield's preference, not a signed fight. It also sits next to a separate WBA order issued the same day: Schofield's first mandatory defense is against Jose "Rayo" Valenzuela, with 30 days to make a deal, which we covered in our Nov. 11 story. The protest ruling leaves that mandatory in place.

The Bahdi decision was part of a busy Nov. 11 at the WBA, which also reaffirmed that Teofimo Lopez must face Jack Catterall. Lopez's managers have since disputed a key finding in that ruling and plan to appeal. Once Schofield-Valenzuela has a date, you can log a pick in Fight Picker.