At the Commonwealth Games, a super heavyweight fighter sensationally hit a referee in the face. The referee went a little bit too near to the action while presiding over a bout between Sagar Ahlawat of India and Maxime Yegnong Njieyo of Cameroon.
The two competitors threw a lot of hard blows at one other, but referee Paula Falorni wasn’t meant to take any of them.
Yegnong Njieyo prepared a powerful left hook but failed miserably. His momentum caused him to swing directly at the referee’s face after missing Ahlawat.
Surprisingly, the referee handled it quite well. She didn’t even flinch before handling the battle.
Njieyo immediately apologized for his careless punch as Falorni remained there, indicating to him about it rather than falling to the ground. The argument picked back up after she seemed to accept his apologies.
In the end, Yegnong Njieyo lost by a sizable margin because he was unable to hit his opponent with as many hard punches. At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Ahlawat competed for the first time. The 20-year-old won 5-0 by decision.
However, Yegnong Njieyo’s mistake could be what some fans remember the fight for.
“I would’ve been OUT like a light,” one person said on social media.
Ahlawat posted a round-up on his Instagram account after the fight.
It said: “SAGAR THROUGH TO QUARTERS!
“Sagar Ahlawat in full beast mode as he uses his jabs, crosses and hooks to perfection against Cameron’s Maxime Yegnong in the men’s 92kg+ bout. Unanimous Decision victory!
“More power to you going ahead, Sagar!”
In the quarterfinals, he will compete Keddy Agnes of the Seychelles.