Juliana Velasquez’s championship loss to Liz Carmouche at Bellator 278 will stand after the Hawaii State Boxing Commission officially denied her appeal of the decision, MMA Fighting has learned.
Velasquez led the way in scorecards in April 22 title bout when Carmouche trapped her in a crucifix position during the fourth round. Carmouche landed several elbows, and referee Mike Beltran stopped the contest with 13 seconds left in the frame. Speaking with MMA Fighting moments after the bout, Velasquez said “we all can [make mistakes], but these mistakes cost a lot in our lives in terms of media attention and salary. It’s impossible to make mistakes like this .”
MMA Fighting obtained a letter from the Hawaii commission sent to Velasquez’s team on June 21 in response to their attempt to have the outcome “changed from a ‘knockout’ win for Ms. Carmouche to a ‘win’ for Ms. Velasquez due to an alleged error by referee Mike Beltran.”
The result was decided by the commission. “[t]The referees will stop contests when either contestant shows marked superiority, or appears to be outclassed.
Velasquez still has 60 Days to appeal against the decision.
According to the commission, Mr. Beltran on April 29 submitted a letter explaining his decision, stating “I was looking closely at the situation unfold and observed what appeared to me Juliana Velasquez’s eyes roll back momentarily. I made a split second decision based on the information provided to me and due to my background, training and experience as a referee, I erred on the side of caution and stopped the fight. Because I believed she might be unconscious, and to avoid further injury, I intervened. … My duty was to protect a fighter who I believed to be in danger.”
The commission has decided that Beltran’s decision to “err on caution” was appropriate in order to safeguard Ms. Velasquez from imminent danger .”
“Big” John McCarthy, who now works as a commentator for Bellator, also wrote a letter to the Hawaii commission that sided with Velasquez.
“When he felt that Juliana had been hit with an elbow, he stopped the fight. McCarthy wrote this in a letter to MMA Fighting. Mike and Juliana were not happy, as was the entire audience watching the fight at home via Showtime Sports. Mike’s conclusion that Juliana was unconscious was incorrect and she could not defend herself ‘intelligently’ was also wrong.
“There are many elements that go into understanding this situation and how a mistake can be made, but make ‘No’ mistake, a mistake did occur and that mistake has led to Juliana unfairly losing the first fight of her professional career along with the loss of her Bellator flyweight world championship title that she worked so very hard to capture.”
” If you look at the final moments of the fight between Juliana & Liz, you’ll notice that Mike Beltran believed that Juliana was unconscious when he stopped the fight. In reality, Juliana was holding her hips off the ground and engaging her hips and legs to try and move her body. Juliana was clearly and indisputably able to engage her hips, legs and pelvic floor.
“Fighting is a tough way to make living and it is even tougher to keep your focus, put up with the abuse of hostile fans and social media keyboard warriors. Each fighter knows they might lose and is able to deal with it when it happens. The truth is this fact has still never arrived for Juliana Velasquez. Although she did not lose the fight against Liz Carmouche, her victory was taken by mistake by a judge who has admitted it. We are all human and we will all make mistakes. We can learn from our mistakes and accept that wisdom. Juliana committed the error of placing herself in a negative position while fighting. This happens every day and fighters almost always make it out of those tough moments. Juliana did not have the chance to go through it, and the result of the fight is unfair.
“This fight should be overturned to a no-contest based upon an error by the referee. A fighter should not be held accountable for other people’s mistake’s and they should not lose fights that they did not lose. In this instance Juliana Velasquez did not lose her fight with Liz Carmouche. It was taken from her.”
Velasquez was 12-0 as a professional MMA fighter going into the event, while Carmouche improved to 4-0 in the company and 17-7 overall in the sport. Bellator has yet to announce what’s next for both flyweights.
