Says ropes were too loose causing accidental fall

After losing his WBO heavyweight championship in the ring via last-second knockout to Shannon Briggs and then losing his protest to the WBO, Sergei Liakhovich has appealed the WBO's decision to let Briggs' victory stand. The WBO's Greivance Committee, headed by John Duggan, will hear Liakhovich's appeal on Wednesday, November 30, 2006. The WBO has requested that Showtime provide all camera angles of the knockdown that sent Liakhovich out of the ring and led referee Bobby Ferrara to stop the bout with a single tick left on the clock. Liakhovich, through his attorney Sabinus Megwa, said the final knockdown was not legitimate and offered several reasons why he thinks Briggs should not have won.  "The 12th round lasted more than the mandated 3 minutes," wrote Megwa. "The referee decided to end the fight without giving the fighter a 10 or 20 second count. The ring ropes were too loose and not properly secured by the contractors that installed the ring and as such, Sergei Liakhovich accidentally fell through the ropes and out of the ring as he leaned on the ropes while dodging a missed punch. Shannon Briggs did not land a legal blow to cause Sergei Liakhovich to fall out of the ring and as such, there was no TKO."