Sampson Lewkowicz Defends Referee Thomas Taylor After Controversial Fundora Stoppage

Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz has voiced strong support for referee Thomas Taylor following the contentious final-second stoppage in Sebastian Fundora's recent WBC super welterweight title defense against Ermal Hadribeaj.

Fundora, making his fourth defense of the championship, dropped mandatory challenger Hadribeaj with a sequence of left hands in the closing moments of the bout. Hadribeaj managed to beat the count at nine, but Taylor chose to wave off the contest just as the final bell was about to sound.

Addressing widespread criticism over the late intervention, Lewkowicz argued that the official made the correct call to protect a compromised fighter while ensuring the champion received proper credit for his work.

Lewkowicz insisted that allowing the fight to reach the final bell would have unfairly stripped Fundora of a legitimate knockout victory, stating that the referee would have robbed the champion of an earned stoppage had he acted otherwise.