The Kansas Athletic Commission has overturned a “no contest” ruling to a second-round technical knockout victory for a home-state boxer, Marco “El Tiburón” Romero (7-0, 6 KOs). Romero, fighting out of Olathe, KS, faced Noah Kidd (10-14-2, 5 KOs) on May 24th in a scheduled six-round bout outdoors at Energy Plaza in downtown Topeka, Kansas. The nineteen year-old Romero dominated Kidd, who was reluctant to fight. According to a press release issued on behalf of Romero, Kidd was floored in the second round and then claimed he was unable to continue fighting due to an injury he suffered after falling out of the ring. Romero's manager/head trainer John Brown immediately filed a protest requesting the “no contest” verdict be changed to a win for Romero. His challenge noted that the alleged injury was not the result of a foul, Romero was physically able and ready to continue the bout, and circumstances surrounding the fall and stoppage warranted further review.

 

The Kansas Athletic Commission reviewed the incident and determined that Kidd's injury from falling out of the ring was accidental, not caused by Romero. The bout was stopped by the ringside physician for medical reasons. Romero did not violate any rules and was capable of continuing the fight. Based on the Commissions review of circumstances and applicable regulations, the bout did not meet the threshold for a no contest ruling under Kansas law, as the injury did not arise from a rule violation or external interference. Considering these findings, the Kansas Athletic Commission ruled to overturn the original rules and amended it as an official recording as a technical knockout (TKO) victory in favor of Romero.

 

“I’m glad I got that win on my record,” Romero said. “I put in a lot of hard work in the gym, running and making sacrifices during training camp. I’m happy the Kansas Athletic Commission took its time, watched the fight and made its ruling. The dude only came to pick up a paycheck.”

 

“Marco came to fight but his opponent wanted to play rugby, trying to run him over and tackle him,” Brown commented. “His opponent hurt himself with these tactics and upon closer examination, the commission did the right thing.”

 

Romero’s next scheduled fight is June 14th vs. Nafys Anas Garner in a six-round super middleweight bout in Portland, Maine.