Jamie Varner, Kamal Shalorus fight to controversial draw

By Brett Okamoto

Sunday, June 20, 2010 | 9:14 p.m.

Jamie Varner felt very strongly that he had done enough to come away with a clear-cut decision in his lightweight fight with Kamal Shalorus on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta.

Two of the three judges scoring the fight, however, disagreed.

In what likely will be one of the most controversial decisions of the year, the two fighters walked away with a split draw, despite what many considered to be a fairly dominant performance by Varner.

While Varner (16-3-3) clearly was upset when the decision was announced, he placed none of the blame on Shalorus (6-0-2).

"I think that was bogus. I thought I won the fight," Varner said. "But Shalorus is now the toughest guy you have heard of. I have so much respect for him. Not only is he a great fighter, but he's even a better gentleman."

Making the decision even more puzzling was the fact Shalorus had a point deducted in the second round for landing two consecutive accidental blows to Vaner's groin.

Relying on a game plan of heavy, inside leg kicks, Shalorus actually landed a third hard groin shot in the third round. Referee Josh Rosenthal could have deducted another point at that time, but ended up just warning him instead.

After the fight, Shalorus apologized for the illegal kicks and said he would never use those types of strikes intentionally.

"I swear I'm not like that," Shalorus said. "I'm a warrior. I don't cheat. It was an accident."

Despite being a former Olympian in freestyle wrestling, Shalorus chose to test his standup throughout the fight — a strategy that got him into trouble during the first and second rounds.

Combining a lead left jab and a straight right, Varner staggered Shalorus in the first and second rounds, only to see his opponent regain his composure and raise his arms as if he was enjoying the beating.

Varner's strategy took a big hit late in the second round when it appeared he broke his right hand. After the fight, the 25-year-old fighter said he thought his right foot was broken, as well.

Shalorus secured his first and only takedown of the fight in the final round, but it didn't appear it would be enough to steal a decision.

In the end, that's exactly what it did. Had he not been deducted a point in the second round, he actually would have won the fight. The final scores were a 29-27 for Varner, a 29-27 for Shalorus and 28-28.

In the co-main event, Canadian fighters Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin delivered an instant classic to their countrymen in a back-and-forth standup brawl.

After a highly active first round, which saw a slight advantage go to Jabouin, both featherweights went down in the second round from strikes.

After dropping Hominick (18-8) with a big right hook, Jabouin (14-5) looked for the finish but was swept into bottom position by Hominick, who ended up in the mount and pounded his way to a TKO win at the 3:21 mark.

"That's the first time I ever had someone live up to the words they were going to stand toe-to-toe with me," Hominick said. "That's the kind of fight you're going to see if you stand toe-to-toe with me."

Following the win, Hominick pleaded his case for a featherweight title shot but also said he'd be interested in fighting another specific standup brawler.

"Every man in this division is tough but no one can bring to the table what I can against (WEC featherweight champion) Jose Aldo," Hominick said. "I think another great fight would be myself and Leonard Garcia."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].