Lukas Ekes Out Decision to Obtain IBO
Super Flyweight Title
by Ron Scarfone October 8, 2024
(OCT 8) On Sunday, October
6th, at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand,
Angelina “Barbie” Lukas of Kazakhstan obtained the vacant
International Boxing Organization (IBO) super flyweight title by
a controversial unanimous decision over Debora Anahi Lopez of
Argentina. Lukas was rated No. 9 by the IBO in the super
flyweight division. Lopez was not rated only because she had
been inactive for over one year. Lopez was a ranked contender by
two sanctioning bodies in April 2024 in the bantamweight
division: No. 10 by the WBO and No. 14 by the IBF.
Lukas had won world titles from
other sanctioning bodies in the super flyweight division such as
the Universal Boxing Organization (UBO), Women’s International
Boxing Federation (WIBF), World Boxing Federation (WBF), and the
Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA). However, the
best boxer that Lukas defeated prior to this recent fight
against Lopez was when Lukas won the vacant WBC International
bantamweight title by a split decision against Ana Arrazola of
Mexico in April 2023. Lukas pushed Arrazola’s head down in the
fourth round and Arrazola threw a light punch low.
In that fight with Arrazola, rather than deduct a point from
Lukas for the foul of pushing an opponent’s head with an arm or
elbow, the referee instead deducted a point from Arrazola for a
low blow which was inconsequential. The referee warned Lukas for
pushing down on the head in round eight, but never deducted a
point from Lukas. In spite of this, one of the judges scored the
fight in favor of Arrazola. The other two judges scored it in
favor of Lukas. Arrazola’s heyday was in 2013 when she won
the vacant WBF light flyweight title. Arrazola is currently
rated No. 52 in the bantamweight division by FightFax which is a
records keeper for boxing.
Like Lukas, Lopez has also been a world champion. Conversely,
Lopez had to defeat world-class boxers to accomplish this and
not just boxers with winning records. Lopez won the vacant WBO
flyweight title in December 2019 against Niorkis Carreno by
unanimous decision. Carreno is currently rated No. 30 by the IBO
in the bantamweight division. Lopez successfully defended the
title in December 2020 against Ayelen Micaela Alejandra
Granadino by unanimous decision. Granadino is rated No. 27 by
the IBO in the flyweight division.Lopez has fought 171 rounds in
her pro boxing career which is nearly 100 rounds more than Lukas
who fought 72. Both have similar ages with Lukas slightly
younger at 27 and Lopez at 29.
This fight against Lukas was Lopez’s first fight this year
whereas this was Lukas’ seventh fight in 2024. Five of those
seven fights took place in Bangkok, Thailand. One of the fights
which took place in China is missing from Lukas’ record on
BoxRec which is the other records keeper for boxing and Fight
Fax. Although Lopez had the edge against Lukas in ring
experience and quality of opposition, Lukas had the physical
advantages of being about four inches taller than Lopez and
having a longer reach. Lukas also had the advantage of being the
hometown fighter because she fought in Bangkok frequently this
year.
During this IBO super flyweight
title fight, Lopez showed her superior boxing ability. Lopez was
especially effective with left and right hooks to the head. In
round two, Lopez was warned by the referee for punching to the
back of the head, but Lukas was leaning against Lopez in a
corner of the ring and the punch was to the side of the head and
not the back. Lukas began to push Lopez’s head down similarly to
what she did when she fought Arrazola.
Near the end of round two, Lukas
pushed down on Lopez’s head with her elbow. Lukas then attempted
to land a left uppercut to the head with her other arm, but
Lopez evaded the punch. In the fourth round and
throughout the rest of the fight, Lukas pushed down on Lopez’s
head using her arm or elbow more than 20 times. The referee
never deducted a point from Lukas. One of the commentators said
Lukas was “making this a dirty fight.” In round five, Lukas’ arm
was over Lopez’s shoulder and on Lopez’s back. Lopez landed a
punch to the back of the head. This was definitely a foul and
the referee warned Lopez for that.
In the sixth round, Lopez landed
a punch to the back of the head while both boxers were close to
each other. The referee then paused the fight and deducted a
point from Lopez. The fight resumed and Lopez landed a big right
hand to the head of Lukas. Lukas then pushed Lopez’s head down
as much as she possibly could. When Lopez stood upright, she
gestured with her arms in a pushing down motion to convey to the
referee what foul Lukas has repeatedly done and was seemingly
allowed to do. Lukas pushed Lopez’s head as far down as she
could two more times in an apparent disregard for the rules.
At the end of the round, Lopez
again gestured with her arms imitating what Lukas was doing to
no avail. In round seven, Lukas continued to push Lopez’s head
down. Lopez was great at keeping her composure despite the
numerous fouls from Lukas. Lopez landed a big straight right to
the head which made Lukas step backwards. Lukas pushed Lopez’s
head down in retaliation with no warning from the referee. After
pushing Lopez’s head down again, the referee finally warned
Lukas about the foul. Unfortunately for Lopez, this did not stop
Lukas from doing it again in the same round. Lukas pushed
Lopez’s head down with both gloves. Lukas pushed down on Lopez’s
head again and then after the bell rang to end the round, Lukas
landed a left uppercut to the head while the referee was
standing next to them and the referee did nothing about it.
In the eighth round, Lopez landed left and right hooks to the
head. Lukas later pushed down on the back of Lopez’s head with
her elbow. The referee said nothing. One of the commentators
said that it was “ridiculous.” In the ninth round, Lukas punched
Lopez to the back of the head while the referee said nothing
about it and just separated them. Lukas did not get a warning by
the referee for the same type of foul that he deducted a point
from Lopez. In the tenth and final round, Lukas was still
pushing down on Lopez’s head. Lopez’s superior strength and
stamina enabled her to maintain the pace and win rounds despite
the intentional fouls from Lukas. Lopez landed a big right
uppercut to the head of Lukas while they were in a clinch. Lukas
pushed down on the back of Lopez’s head and continued to do so
as the round was almost over without the referee saying
anything. One commentator said that it was “absolutely absurd.”
Lopez landed a left hook to the head as the bell rang to end the
round and the fight.
The total scores of the judges
were 97-92, 95-94, and 95-94 all in favor of Lukas by unanimous
decision. The judge from New Zealand scored it 97-92 whereas the
two judges from Thailand scored it 95-94. The referee is from
the Philippines. If there was a one-point deduction from Lukas
by the referee for her fouls, the fight would have been a
majority draw because two of the scores would have been 94-94.
If the referee had been impartial
and deducted at least two points from Lukas for the more than 20
fouls of pushing down on the back of the head, then Lopez more
than likely would have won the fight.
Lukas adds another belt to her
collection and improves her record to 12-1, 6 KOs. Lopez’s
record is now 21-3-1, 1 KO. This event was promoted by Fight
Club Championship and Highland Boxing Promotions.
The poster for this fight states that it is a “HISTORICAL
FIGHT.” This fight is historical in that it may have been one of
the worst officiated fights in women’s boxing history. This fight
gives a black eye not only to the IBO who sanctioned the fight,
but also to women’s boxing.
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Comment from WBAN:
I watched this fight, and in my own thoughts---was nothing more
than a "Trainwreck" --- The referee continually
turned a blind eye on the tactics of Lukas that continued
throughout this fight..Not an easy fight to enjoy watching
for ten rounds....Sue TL Fox
