The New York State Athletic Commission, which initially issued a surprisingly heavy punishment to welterweight Ivan Redkach for biting Danny Garcia during their title elimination bout Jan. 25, has dramatically reduced his punishment.
Initially, the New York commission announced that it had issued Redkach the maximum fine of $10,000 “for engaging in dangerous, disorderly and unsportsmanlike conduct” and suspended his boxing license for one year. It also said that Redkach should forfeit his entire $300,000 purse from the fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, even though he had already deposited the check.
But this week, after discussions with Redkach representatives, the commission backed off its original punishment.
“After a final agreement with Mr. Ivan Redkach’s legal team, the New York State Athletic Commission is taking the following disciplinary action against Mr. Redkach for biting Mr. Danny Garcia’s shoulder during the fight that took place on January 25th, 2020,” commission spokeswoman Mercedes Padilla said in an email to ESPN. “Mr. Redkach was issued a maximum fine of $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Mr. Redkach will be suspended for a period of six months, running from the date of the incident.”
The commission is no longer seeking to have Redkach (23-5-1, 18 KOs), 33, a Ukraine native who fights out of Los Angeles, forfeit his purse.
The commission’s reduction in Redkach’s punishment was first reported by Boxingscene.
With a little over a minute left in the eighth round, Redkach bit Garcia on the left side of the neck, near his shoulder, when they were in a clinch. Referee Benjy Esteves did not deduct any points from Redkach for the foul, nor did Garcia visibly complain about it.
Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs), 31, a former two-division world titleholder from Philadelphia, delivered a beating to Redkach for most of the bout en route to a unanimous decision on scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111. The victory set him up for a likely fight in late spring or summer against unified titleholder Errol Spence Jr. or titlist Manny Pacquiao.