RENO (Nevada), Dec 1: Former junior welterweight champion Zab Judah was suspended six months and fined 75,000 dollars by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Friday for his antics following a championship bout with Kostya Tszyu earlier this month.

After Tszyu recorded a second-round technical knockout to unify the super lightweight championship, the 24-year-old Judah bounced up to challenge the knockdown but stumbled as he pursued referee Jay Nady.

Nady, who never began a count after Judah hit the canvas, immediately halted the bout one second before the bell sounded to end the round.

When the result was announced, Judah put a glove to the chin of Nagy, then tossed a stool toward the center of the ring before he was held back by a phalanx of police and security guards.

In a postfight news conference, Judah said he was cheated, but apologized for his actions.

The loss dropped Judah’s record to 26-1 with a no-contest. He had captured the 140-pound International Boxing Federation crown with a second-round knockout of South Africa’s Jan Bergman in February 2000.

Tszyu had held the WBA and WBC titles.

Judah’s suspension begins with the November 3 bout.—AFP