Newfel Ouatah has now offered the reason for his protest in the ring and the lack of effort in his last fight.
It will still cost him a payday and any remaining respect he has in the sport.
A freak occurrence saw Ouatah take a knee and raise his right fist in protest immediately after the bell rang to start his scheduled fight with Simon Kean. The co-feature aired on ESPN+ on Friday night at the Casino de Montreal lasted only sixteen seconds, and referee Martin Forest was forced to cancel the contest after confirming that Ouatah had no intention of getting off the canvas.
It was later revealed that France’s Ouatah was never fully cleared by La Federation Francaise de Box (FF Boxe) to proceed with the fight, with the 36-year-old being deemed an insurance liability by his local commission. .
“The Federation Francaise de Box and La Ligue Nationale de Box Profesionnelle confirm that no authorization has been issued for you to fight on September 9, 2022 in Montreal,” FF Boxe informed Ouatah in a letter on the day of the fight, which It was the first one. obtained and informed by RMC Sport of France. “We inform you that our institution is free of any responsibility.”
RDS (Reseua des sports) reported that Ouatah’s bourse will be held pending an investigation, with the high probability that he will not be paid at all for Friday’s lack of effort.
The show was headlined by rising super middleweight Christian Mbilli (22-0, 20KOs), who dropped American test horse DeAndre Ware three times in a second-round knockout victory. The 2016 Olympian for France made a major statement with the win, though most of the subsequent conversation continues around the odd co-star.
Ouatah, who represented France at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, hid the matter from Eye of The Tiger Management (EOTTM), the event’s promoter whose Friday show marked the debut of his recently signed contract with ESPN+. He fully disclosed the details in his own statement, provided hours after the fight.
“[FF Boxe] sent me a letter [on Friday] to let me know that I wouldn’t be insured in case of any problem,” Ouatah, 36, said overnight on social media. “This fight I wanted, I took some time off to prepare and the expenses that come with it.
“What I did (in the ring) was a protest. I apologize to everyone and especially to Eye of the Tiger Management. You don’t play boxing.
Everyone involved was caught off guard by the sequence, including Kean (22-1, 21KOs) who delivered a straight left to a kneeling Ouatah that was interrupted by the referee. It was the only punch thrown by either fighter during the brief affair, which left a sour taste in the collective mouth of Kean and the promotion.
The excuse offered by Ouatah has not yet found a sympathetic ear. Had he disclosed the matter to EOTTM, it would have been explained to him that he would have had medical coverage for his placement on the card.
“After his fight against Christian Mbilli, Nadjib Mohammedi had been in the hospital and I was the one who paid all his expenses,” explained EOTTM president and founder Camille Estephan in an interview with RDS. “We have insurance for that. when I told [Ouatah], had no answer. He was sorry…
“It’s a coward’s excuse. These are things that should never happen. Additionally, the fight was televised live at his home in France on RMC Sport. He will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
Ouatah has now officially lost his last two fights via stoppage. Friday’s affair was his first scheduled fight since a fourth-round knockout loss to undefeated Ukrainian prospect Vladyslav Sirenko last June 12 in kyiv.
Kean extended his winning streak to seven in a row following the only loss of his career in an October 2018 fourth-round knockout loss to Dillon Carman in Quebec City. The 33-year-old from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, who represented Canada at the 2012 London Olympics, and EOTTM recently signed a co-promotion deal with Top Rank.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
