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Zab Judah and promoter Roy Englebrecht both suspended

Fighters Network
11
Mar

 

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Zab Judah and promoter Roy Englebrecht have been placed on immediate suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for allegedly providing false licensing documents to the commission for a card they were involved in Saturday at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada commission told RingTV.com on Friday.



Judah and Englebrecht have a hearing scheduled for March 23 at the commission when the complaint against them will be outlined, Bennett said. Bennett declined to go into specifics about the licensing documents that were provided because of what he said was “pending litigation,” though he did say that what Judah and Englebrecht allegedly did were “egregious acts.”

In discussing possible punishment, Bennett said Judah could have his license revoked but was not in danger of a lifetime ban. Judah and Englebrecht were notified of their suspension on Thursday, Bennett said.

Judah was scheduled to face Josh Torres on Saturday on the CBS Sports Network in his first fight since he was out-boxed by Paulie Malignaggi in Dec. of 2013 in Brooklyn. The entire card was canceled after Judah and Englebrecht were suspended, and all ticket purchases will be reimbursed. Credit card transactions will be automatically refunded and cash refunds will be issued at their point of purchase, a press release announcing the cancellation of the show said. A call to Judah’s manager, Bill Halkias wasn’t immediately returned.

Derek Stevens, CEO of Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, said in the release that he was compelled to cancel the entire show after he “received multiple calls from the Nevada Athletic Commission regarding eligibility concerns. After our discussions, it became apparent the fight card could not move forward.”

The 38-year-old Judah (42-9, 29 knockouts) has been snake-bitten in his recent comeback. Last August, Judah signed with promoter Greg Cohen but failed to make it into the ring in three scheduled fights under his banner. After splitting with Cohen last month, Judah, a former undisputed welterweight champion, went his own way and parlayed his name into a scheduled main event on Saturday, only for this to happen.

“It’s really too bad for the fans, for the network and for the sport of boxing,” Bennett said of the situation. “But the Nevada State Athletic Commission has always prided itself on the health and safety of the fighters and having integrity be at the forefront of our rules and objectives and our mission statement. Once you see the findings that we have to date, I think it will be very evident in why we had to take this action.”

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