Paul Burke vs. Felix Bwalya

Paul Burke 140 lbs lost to Felix Bwalya by PTS in round 12 of 12

• Date: 1997-12-13
• Location: Lusaka, Zambia
• Referee: Hugo Mulenga

• Commonwealth Boxing Council (British Empire) Light Welterweight Title (1st defense of Burke)

Notes

• Bwalya down once in each of rounds 10, 11 and 12.
• A little over a minute into round 12, Bwalya was knocked down by a Burke punch and seemed to be unable to continue. However, the bell sounding the end of the round (and the fight) rang out and the referee initialy ruled that Bwalya had been saved by the bell. The fight therefore went to the scorecard of the referee and Bwalya was announced as the winner on points.
• According to the Associated Press report of December 25, 1997, an error in timekeeping lead to the bell sounding almost two minutes early and preventing the referee from completing his count. The same report indicated that referee Mulenga and the members of the Professional Boxing Board of Control were all suspended pending an official enquiry.
• Burke's camp filed a complaint with the Commonwealth Boxing Council.
• According to Boxing Monthly, June 1998, p. 39, a videotape of the bout "categorically confirms" that Burke scored a knockout of Bwalya 66 seconds into the final round, and that Burke did not land the knockout blows after the final bell as local officials had subsequently ruled. The Commonwealth Council, it was further reported, decided that Burke would receive the champion's share of the purse in any future bout to fill the vacant title, but declined to overturn the decision.
• Bwalya fell into a coma and died shortly after this bout. Burke's trainer Billy Graham was quoted in the above-referenced article as saying that he and Burke had seen Bwalya at breakfast the morning after the bout and that Bwalya had appeared "fine" then, and that he and Burke did not learn of Bwalya's death until Christmas Eve, eleven days after the fight.
• According to the BBC News report of December 23, 1997, Bwalya was taking malaria medication and went on a two-day drinking binge to celebrate his victory before falling into a coma and tragically passing away.

Preceded by: Paul vs. Burke I

Commonwealth Light Welterweight Title Fight # 42

Succeeded by: Burke vs. Magee I