Heavyweight Skipp Scott Hears From Fans Worldwide, Voicing Their Support: 'He should have been disqualified. It was a blatant foul.'

Heavyweight contender Skipp "Strictly Business" Scott says he has heard from hundreds of boxing fans around the world who support his efforts to have his controversial "loss" to Gerald Washington reversed. Scott trained hard for the biggest fight of his life to date, a FOX Sports 1- and FOX Deportes-televised showdown against fellow up-and-comer Gerald "El Gallo Negro" Washington on Thursday, April 3, at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, only to have his night ended early by a blatantly illegal punch thrown by Washington. Scott was legitimately dropped by a right hand and took a knee to recover, but was then hit by a hard body shot from Washington a full second after going down at 1:40 of round two. Referee Lou Moret missed the illegal punch and awarded Washington a KO victory, much to the dismay of Scott and his team, as well as the television commentators and many who have seen the incident. "I've heard from hundreds of people all over the world," said Scott. "People I don't even know reaching out and telling me they agree with the commentators and disagree with the referee. It was an illegal shot and he should have been disqualified. It was a blatant foul." Scott admits he was badly hurt by the illegal punch, which caught him in the body and bowled him over. "I was very hurt. Any time a strong 260-lb man winds up and hits you with everything he's got while you're not even looking, it'll totally paralyze you. I felt like that shot took everything out of me. I stood up, still dazed, and the left side of my body was still numb. When I went to move, that whole side of my body gave out on me. It took me a while to get it all back together." A true sportsman, Scott says he bears Washington no hard feelings and doesn't think the foul was thrown on purpose. "Do I think he did it intentionally? No. After the fight, I went over to Washington. I'm a gentleman at all times. No hard feelings. Business is business. I told him I hope you have a great career. That's what I would have said no matter what, win or lose. My biggest prayer is that every fighter, win or lose, leaves the ring healthy and able to support their family. I realize it's an adrenaline sport and I know emotions are strong. I understand things happen in a fight. But whether he did it on purpose or not doesn't matter. He hit me with a bad shot, intentional or unintentional. What really has me upset is that the referee, before the fight, explained to us his number one rule is if you hit a guy when he's down, he'll deduct two points and/or disqualify you, no questions asked." While Scott says he and his team haven't heard from the California Boxing Commission yet regarding the official protest they've launched, he's reasonably confident the outcome will eventually be changed. "We talked to the TV announcers and to all three judges and they all said they saw the foul. They should overturn this from a loss for me to a DQ for him. It's not just my team's word of mouth. It comes from Commission officials. They all saw him hit me while I was on the ground. I just want the right decision to be made. You should still have to pay the penalty for it." Regardless of the final decision on the incident, Scott says he would love to face Washington again and settle who the true better man is. "I would love to fight him again. I felt great in there. I knew what my game plan was, to feel him out and then start moving forward. I felt good I was relaxed. It was a ten-round fight, there was no need to start out guns blazing. I would have eventually started picking him apart and that's what I'll do if we fight again."