On May 6 in New Delhi, three cage-side judges decided that James Thompson outpointed Bobby Lashley in the Super Fight League 3 main event.
Lashley disagrees with that assessment. According to the Shark Fights heavyweight champion, the proof lies in the punishment put on his opponent over the course of their three-round affair.
“I thought the outcome was a little bit shady,” Lashley recently told Sherdog.com. “I thought I did enough damage and really hurt him pretty bad. I guess [Thompson] just left India on [May 14]. He had a broken orbital bone. I broke his nose really bad. I scarred his face up. I mean, I tore him apart, and I didn’t really have a scratch on me.”
Lashley flurried early in the bout, cracking Thompson with a series of hard shots between takedowns. To Thompson’s credit, he managed to work his way back to his feet each time his back hit the mat. Upon regaining his vertical base, however, Thompson was met with more punch combinations from the American that wobbled him near the end of the first frame.
Thompson landed a long one-two to start the second round and bulled his man into the fence before landing a solid knee to Lashley’s groin. After Lashley recovered from the blow, Thompson continued to rifle knees at his lower midsection over the course of the next several minutes, causing the former three-time NAIA national wrestling champion to cry out in pain when another shot appeared to stray low.
Referee Marc Goddard would rule that shot as clean, but later stopped the contest once again after Thompson’s technique strayed early in the third. Goddard did not take a point, however, instead issuing Thompson another warning for second the accidental foul.
“I think [Thompson] was just trying to slow progress down,” said Lashley. “When you’re fighting somebody, and you’re trying to slow them down, hit them with a good nut shot. Those will stop you.
“This is how I look at it. The first time I give somebody a low blow, I’m going to be really cautious of that for the rest of the time,” said Lashley. “I’m going to maybe stay higher or throw different shots or something like that, because I know that if I do it again, there will be a point deduction. I’m not going to keep doing the same thing. How many of those do you need before you get any kind of deduction?”
Lashley was effective in flurries during the last two rounds, exploding to create space and then connecting with heavy hooks and uppercuts. By contrast, Thompson was relentless with his pressure, pressing Lashley against the cage while continually landing short punches, knees and elbows. After 15 minutes of combat, the judges ruled that Thompson’s style was more convincing, awarding “The Colossus” scores of 29-28 across the board.
“Being the bigger guy, I think he just wanted to put his weight on me,” said Lashley. “He touched me a couple of times, but his shots weren’t even effective. It was like he was just trying to touch me to score points. Whenever I’d create a little space, I’d hit him with a hard one, and there would be blood flying all over.”
Though Lashley did not reveal any specific plans for his future, the heavyweight says he could see action as soon as next month. He is also eager to lock horns with Thompson again if the opportunity presents itself.
“I have a couple of offers in place to fight next month. I’m still in camp, because I really didn’t get any damage done to me.” said Lashley. “I would love to fight Thompson again if there is a rematch [possibility]. With all the surgeries that he had, I don’t think he’s going to fight for the rest of the year. If he does fight, I would be more than happy to fight him, but if it’s done in India under that promotion, then I know I’m going to have to stop him in the first round as opposed to trying to spend any time with it.”
