Not much was expected in Cologne, Germany, on Saturday night as WBA Heavyweight “Champion in Recess” Mahmoud Charr fought undefeated Chris Lovejoy.
Heading into the contest, nobody was having the wool pulled over their eyes as Lovejoy brought a 19-0 record into the ring.
As previously covered extensively on WBN, Lovejoy had the worst top division record to ever come with a world ranking. Another reason why WBN doesn’t recognize the organization as a significant sanctioning body anymore.
Reporter Eric Armit picks up the story of how Lovejoy fared in what was classed by the promoters as a bonafide world title defense by Charr.
This fight was every bit as much of a farce as expected. In the opener, Lovejoy was sluggish and slow. He just prodded with his punches.
The referee stopped the action at one point. He showed Lovejoy how he was supposed to his with the knuckle part of the glove, not the back of the glove.
At the end of the round, Lovejoy lurched forward, grabbing Charr, and then fell to his knees as the home fighter stepped back. No knockdown, but Lovejoy was very slow in getting up.
Lovejoy started by throwing some punches in the second, but a series of jabs from Charr saw Lovejoy retreat to the ropes and a right to the head.
A left hook dropped him, and he took the ten count on one knee.
Charr, 36, was having his first fight since November 2017. But this was a non-title fight. Charr had been WBA secondary champion but then was re-designated to “Champion in Recess.”
Now that he has fought again, it will be interesting to see how the WBA designates him.
Lovejoy was obese and inept. More of a “BLOAT” than a “GOAT.” He weighed 306 ½ lbs for this fight, 61lbs more than Charr and 70lbs heavier than his last fight in January 2020.
The heaviness tells you how much training he did for this fight. He also turned up on his own with no trainer or cornermen. BoxRec rated him No 332, and even that flatters him.
On the undercard, in another total mismatch.
Christian Hammer floored Pole Patryk Kowoll three times to force the stoppage in the third round.
The Romanian-born Hammer (real name Christian Ciocan) has scored wins over Erkan Teper and David Price.
Seriously overmatched in points losses to Alexander Povetkin, Luis Ortiz, and Tony Yoka, Hammer is a fringe contender at best.
Poor Kowoll is now 2-9 in his last 11 fights, with all nine losses inside the distance.
HEAVYWEIGHT FARCE
And continuing from Armit’s report with the reason why Lovejoy got his chance, you’d have to take that up with Don King and Gilberto Mendoza.
The pair have a long-standing relationship. But when Lovejoy jumped ship, the WBA was seemingly forced to honor his undeserved heavyweight rating.
What we do know from this situation is that such a blatant move should never happen again. I’m afraid it probably will.
