Sakaria Lukas and his handlers realize that the Namibian featherweight’s career was positively impacted Saturday night.
They still want the result of his 10-round split draw with Tugstsogt Nyambayar changed to a no-contest. Scott Farrell, Lukas’ manager, has informed BoxingScene.com that he intends to file a protest on his boxer’s behalf with New Jersey’s State Athletic Control Board.
In accordance with the NJSACB’s regulations, a successful appeal can result at best in a no-contest, but not a victory for Lukas. Had referee Eddie Claudio called a knockdown for Lukas early in the eighth round, rather than a slip, Lukas (25-1-1, 17 KOs) would’ve won a split decision because each judge would’ve deducted a point from Nyambayar (12-2-1, 9 KOs) in the opener of Showtime’s tripleheader at Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City.
Instead, judge Robin Taylor scored their back-and-forth fight a draw, 95-95. Had Claudio correctly ruled a knockdown for Lukas, who sent Nyambar to the canvas with a short jab, he would’ve won 95-94 on Taylor’s card.
Judge Anthony Lundy scored Lukas a 96-94 winner, but judge Ron McNair scored their fight 96-94 for Nyambayar.
Farrell incredulously recalled the sequence during which Mongolia’s Nyambayar, who was a 25-1 favorite, was knocked to the canvas.
“The overhand right [from Lukas] comes on the temple,” Farrell said, “which makes us all say, ‘Whoo!’ And then the whole audience stands up, everyone’s watching the screen, the jab comes through and he hits the deck. How clean is that? There’s nothing else that can be any cleaner. Perfect jab, straight on the chin, you know what I mean? So, that was our fight. The ref, I don’t know how he’s gonna get away with that. He shouldn’t be doing that anymore. That is just crazy. He should be suspended and that should be overturned.”
Showtime’s Jim Gray interviewed Claudio in the immediate aftermath of his controversial call. Claudio claimed Nyambayar’s “body language” caused him to slip to the canvas, despite obvious video evidence that showed Lukas’ punch knocked Nyambayar down.
Regardless, Farrell hopes that Lukas’ performance against an Olympic silver medalist and former world championship challenger convinces Premier Boxing Champions founder Al Haymon to give his 37-year-old contender another meaningful fight later this year. Lukas, a full-time sergeant in Namibia’s Marine Corps, replaced Nyambayar’s original opponent, southpaw Vic Pasillas (16-1, 9 KOs), on five days’ notice after Pasillas tested positive for COVID-19.
“I do respect the fact that we’ve come across [the Atlantic Ocean] as the B fighter,” Farrell said. “We know what we’re here for. All right? We know that kind of they don’t really want us to win. But PBC has always been really fair with us, gave us our second shot after the [Isaac] Avelar incident [a 10-round, unanimous-decision loss in December 2020]. He took that on three days’ notice. We lost that fight to a lesser fighter [than Nyambayar].
“We came back on a five-day notice and we took on I think he’s a world-ranked number one, I think, and we destroyed him. We demoralized him. Sakaria was a better fighter. He had more energy, more heart, more in the toolbox and he won the fight – simple as that. There’s no other way of looking at it.”
Farrell would welcome a rematch with Nyambayar, who is the WBC’s number one-ranked featherweight contender for newly crowned champion Mark Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs). Lukas is even more interested in challenging the Philippines’ Magsayo, who upset long-reigning champion Gary Russell Jr. (31-2, 18 KOs) by majority decision in the 12-round main event Saturday night.
“The positive thing that’s come out of this draw is that he’s put the world on notice,” Farrell said of Lukas. “People actually are having a look at him and thinking, ‘Well, this kid’s got something. He’s got a lot of heart. He’s 37.’ If he can do that on five days’ notice, give us a proper camp, give us a world title shot. We’ve taken out the fighter ranked number one, so we don’t mind who we go against. Just give us a shot.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.