Several times, Joey Dawejko’s mouthpiece came out in his fight with heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr. last week. And several times, Dawejko was warned, then docked points, then ultimately disqualified, giving Torrez the fifth-round victory.
Dawejko says he wasn’t looking for relief — for extra time to recover while the mouthpiece was cleaned and replaced — or for a way out of the bout.
“To set the record straight, I was not spitting my mouthpiece out on purpose,” Dawejko posted on Facebook. “I was getting hit, and it kept falling out.”
(Ryan Songalia of The Ring was the first to report this.)
During the broadcast, commentator Tim Bradley questioned whether Dawejko had purchased a store-bought, do-it-yourself mouthpiece that you boil in water and imprint with your teeth. Bradley said that professionally made mouthpieces, including those done by dentists, would not be coming out as easily or as regularly as Dawejko’s was.
This was the first time Dawejko has been disqualified, and only the fourth time he failed to see the final bell. The 34-year-old Philadelphian is now 28-12-4 (16 KOs).
Torrez, the super heavyweight silver medalist in the 2020/2021 Olympics, moved to 11-0 (10 KOs). This was his first fight that didn’t end by knockout, and only the third time he saw the fifth round. Torrez stopped Curtis Harper in eight last December.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.