Kiryl Relikh finally lifted his first world title on Saturday night as he avenged a prior defeat to Cuban Rances Barthelemy.The bout marked Relikh's second opportunity at world honours after his 2016 defeat to Scotland's Ricky Burns in Glasgow.However, Saturday's contest will not just be remembered for Relikh's maiden world championship victory. The fight also saw a number of blatant low blows by the Cuban challenger - the worst of which he was not even deducted a point for!Relikh and Barthelemy first met in a WBA junior welterweight championship eliminator in Maryland last May - a fight that was notable for its controversial scorecards. Barthelemy was awarded a unanimous decision victory in a fight where both fighters touched the canvas, despite the fact that many observers felt that Relikh deserved the nod. The nature of the decision meant that a rematch was inevitable. There was to be no such controversy this time, however.Relikh (now 22-2, 19 KOs) dominated his previously unbeaten opponent throughout the 12 round distance in Texas. As the fight wore on, Barthelemy (now 26-1-1 NC, 13 KOs) became increasingly frustrated by his failure to land successfully and began to resort to low blows in an effort to turn the tide on his opponent.Although the 31-year-old Cuban was deducted a point for his actions by referee Luis Pabon in the seventh round, he persisted with his foul tactics until the end of the fight.

The most egregious of these blows took place in the final round, when Barthelemy appeared to be deliberately adjusting his body in order to land blows in the groin area of his opponent - the video of which can be seen above.

Amazingly, referee Pabon did not deduct any further points from Barthelemy. Thankfully, his failure to properly sanction Barthelemy had no impact on the final result, as Relikh ran out a unanimous winner on the judges cards by scores of 117-110, 118-109, and 118-109.

The 28-year-old Belarussian secured the vacant WBA junior welterweight title with his victory and may well have his eyes on the other title holders in the division.

Americans Mikey Garcia and Regis Prograis both picked up their own versions of the junior welterweight world championship this weekend and unification bouts may await for Relikh - who will be keen to ensure that the rules of the sport are followed to the letter in his next bout after his experience on Saturday night.