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I didn't have a clear view on what the correct fight verdict should have been. So I thought that it's never a bad idea to look at what the official WBC rules say...
Based on those, my conclusion is that the decision was correct and that Bernard forfeited the fight by abandonment (like Vitali Klitschko with a similar type injury in the Byrd fight; where he was ahead on all three scorecards). This is because a dislocated shoulder is not listed among the fight ending injuries in the WBC rules. The conclusion does not depend on whether the injury was caused by a foul or not.
[As an aside: this should not be implied to mean that I support boxers fighting injured, but rather that it is ultimately up to the WBC to decide: at present the WBC have not explicitly included shoulder dislocations among the potentially fight stopping ones]
Even if you think that Bernard was fouled and was really unfit to continue, the ultimate verdict is entirely the referee's discretion. The referee can either DQ Chad and announce Bernard the winner, or, alternatively, make Chad the winner with Bernard losing by abandonment. He chose the latter and there is no reason to argue / overrule his decision, I would think.
The only way you can argue for a Technical Draw (aka No Contest) is if you think the injury was fight stopping and not caused by a foul.
Detailed argument follows - looking forward to alternative views and opinions.
For reference, the rules can be found here:
In effect there are two lines you can push I think:
There was an injury (possibly foul-related) which made it impossible to continue the fight
There was no injury (or the injury was not severe enough) to warrant stopping the fight
Key question being, whether the (real or imaginary) injury that Bernard sustained was severe enough to warrant stopping the fight?
If you go with the severe injury line, then the relevant bit of the WBC list of possible results (top of page four) states that:
Legal Punch --> TKO
Accidental Injury --> TDRAW Before 4 or TDEC after 4
Intentional Injury --> DQ
Of course, no one is arguing that a legal punch ended this fight. So, since the events occurred in round 2, therefore the only possible outcomes would be a TDRAW (no contest is not a term used in the rules) or a DQ if we wanted to push the intentional injury line.
If, however, you go with the other line, then you have a problem as the official result list has no option for "quitting when fit to continue". What comes closest in that case, I guess, are the rules on abandonment in point 15:
So here you could say, Bernard was fit, Chad wasn't disqualified - fight ended by abandonment - so a Technical Decision is legit. And accidentally, even if you think that Bernard was fouled and unfit to continue, then it's still the referee's discretion whether to DQ his opponent (in which case Bernard wins) or not (in which case he loses).
An important question in this context is whether what we saw was a foul (and whether it was intentional or not).
Point 15 of the WBC rules, lists common fouls that may be committed by boxers that may be cause for penalty or disqualification. The applicable points of that list read:
Well, arguably Chad didn't shrug Bernard of accidentally - he wanted to do it and he crouched and used his shoulders (and possibly forearms - there was some contact with Bernard's leg).
Of course, you could also make the point that Bernard fouled as well. He was on top of Chad and so, if you really wanted to argue this, the clauses would be:
But back to the main question: does a shoulder injury warrant stopping the fight or is it "abandonment"? Well, if you remember the Klitschko - Byrd fight - there Vitali was ahead on all three scorecards and still lost the fight when he decided not to continue. So that would tend to support the abandonment theory...
But what do the rules say? Point 13 on injuries states that:
Interestingly, the list of injuries includes cuts, abrasions, excessive swelling - but not a dislocated shoulder (kind of in line with the Vitali - Byrd decision). So, reading the rules literally, you would have to conclude that a dislocated shoulder, to the extent that it doesn't cause excessive swelling, is not considered a fight stopping injury. If so, Bernard loses by abandonment, right?
Based on those, my conclusion is that the decision was correct and that Bernard forfeited the fight by abandonment (like Vitali Klitschko with a similar type injury in the Byrd fight; where he was ahead on all three scorecards). This is because a dislocated shoulder is not listed among the fight ending injuries in the WBC rules. The conclusion does not depend on whether the injury was caused by a foul or not.
[As an aside: this should not be implied to mean that I support boxers fighting injured, but rather that it is ultimately up to the WBC to decide: at present the WBC have not explicitly included shoulder dislocations among the potentially fight stopping ones]
Even if you think that Bernard was fouled and was really unfit to continue, the ultimate verdict is entirely the referee's discretion. The referee can either DQ Chad and announce Bernard the winner, or, alternatively, make Chad the winner with Bernard losing by abandonment. He chose the latter and there is no reason to argue / overrule his decision, I would think.
The only way you can argue for a Technical Draw (aka No Contest) is if you think the injury was fight stopping and not caused by a foul.
Detailed argument follows - looking forward to alternative views and opinions.
For reference, the rules can be found here:
In effect there are two lines you can push I think:
There was an injury (possibly foul-related) which made it impossible to continue the fight
There was no injury (or the injury was not severe enough) to warrant stopping the fight
Key question being, whether the (real or imaginary) injury that Bernard sustained was severe enough to warrant stopping the fight?
If you go with the severe injury line, then the relevant bit of the WBC list of possible results (top of page four) states that:
Legal Punch --> TKO
Accidental Injury --> TDRAW Before 4 or TDEC after 4
Intentional Injury --> DQ
Of course, no one is arguing that a legal punch ended this fight. So, since the events occurred in round 2, therefore the only possible outcomes would be a TDRAW (no contest is not a term used in the rules) or a DQ if we wanted to push the intentional injury line.
If, however, you go with the other line, then you have a problem as the official result list has no option for "quitting when fit to continue". What comes closest in that case, I guess, are the rules on abandonment in point 15:
If a fouled boxer decided not to continue, he will lose by abandonment, unless the referee decides to disqualify the offending boxer at his discretion and the doctor’s opinion
An important question in this context is whether what we saw was a foul (and whether it was intentional or not).
Point 15 of the WBC rules, lists common fouls that may be committed by boxers that may be cause for penalty or disqualification. The applicable points of that list read:
2. Use of elbows, shoulders or forearms
20. Crouching the body below the opponent’s belt defensively or to
strike.
20. Crouching the body below the opponent’s belt defensively or to
strike.
Of course, you could also make the point that Bernard fouled as well. He was on top of Chad and so, if you really wanted to argue this, the clauses would be:
8. Striking with the knees, feet or any part of the legs.
13. Excessive holding the opponent or maintaining a clinch.
15. Stepping on the opponent.
28. Any rough tactics other than clean punches
13. Excessive holding the opponent or maintaining a clinch.
15. Stepping on the opponent.
28. Any rough tactics other than clean punches
But what do the rules say? Point 13 on injuries states that:
13. Accidental Injuries from Head Butts, Elbows, or other Accidental or Illegal Actions (injury). The following description applies to injuries from not only head butts and elbows, but from any other accidental or illegal action as well.
a) Unintentional/accidental injury. When a boxer suffers a cut, abrasion, or excessive swelling due to an unintentional/accidental head butt, elbow, etc
a) Unintentional/accidental injury. When a boxer suffers a cut, abrasion, or excessive swelling due to an unintentional/accidental head butt, elbow, etc
Interestingly, the list of injuries includes cuts, abrasions, excessive swelling - but not a dislocated shoulder (kind of in line with the Vitali - Byrd decision). So, reading the rules literally, you would have to conclude that a dislocated shoulder, to the extent that it doesn't cause excessive swelling, is not considered a fight stopping injury. If so, Bernard loses by abandonment, right?
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