Petar Milas, Granit Shala and the Referee Who Lost Control

The heavyweight fight between Petar Milas and Granit Shala ended in a tenth-round stoppage, yet the final record entry says less about the fighters than it does about the referee standing between them. Timo Habighorst’s handling of the closing round at the Kabayel–Knyba event raised immediate and serious concerns about judgment, authority, and basic responsibility. The contest was competitive. The ending was not.

Going into the tenth, the fight was still live on the cards. Some unofficial scores at ringside had Shala ahead based on early rounds where he landed the cleaner single shots and slowed the rhythm. Others leaned toward Milas after the midpoint. Milas had begun cutting off the ring with more purpose, shortening Shala’s exits, increasing his punch count, and forcing exchanges where weight and positioning favored him. Either reading was defencible . None of that should have influenced what followed.

Timo Habighorst was the name of the referee officiating that fight for anybody wondering.

He needs to be investigated immediately.#KabayelKnyba

— MarkusB (@markusbthegoat) January 10, 2026

The first knockdown should have been the intervention

Early in the tenth, Milas dropped Shala. The knockdown itself was clean rather than explosive, but Shala’s response was the problem. He rose without his legs under him, his balance compromised, his awareness dulled. Milas recognized it immediately. Instead of pressing forward, he turned toward referee Timo Habighorst and gestured that Shala was in trouble. Fighters rarely do that, especially heavyweights sensing a stoppage. That signal alone should have prompted a closer inspection.

Habighorst administered a routine count and waved the fight back on without any meaningful assessment. No extended look at Shala’s eyes. No pause to check stability. The referee treated the moment as procedural rather than medical.

Seconds later, Milas stepped in with a short, controlled one-two. Shala went down again. This time the damage was unmistakable. Shala attempted to rise by hauling himself up the ropes, his feet sliding, his high guard absent, his body no longer responding in sequence. The signs were no longer subtle.

Ref Timo Habighorst had an absolute shocker in the Petar Milas v Granit Shala fight.

Could've stopped it after the first knockdown in the final round. Instead, he allowed Shala to continue and allowed him to get the absolute piss beat out of him instead of stopping the fight.

— Anthony Cocks – Aussie Boxing Scribe (@el_pollo_loco) January 10, 2026

Ignoring the corner removes any remaining defence

As the count continued, Shala’s corner threw in the towel and moved toward the ring. That is the final and clearest signal in the sport. The corner had surrendered responsibility because their fighter could no longer protect himself. Even then, Habighorst persisted with the count before eventually stopping the fight.

By that point, every safeguard had failed in sequence. The opponent had asked for intervention. The knockdowns had accumulated. The fighter’s physical state was obvious. The corner had stepped in. The referee still hesitated.

Milas left with a stoppage win and a 20-1 record. Shala left having absorbed punishment that served no competitive purpose. The discussion about rounds won or lost before the tenth has relevance only on paper. In the ring, the important moment came when the referee declined to act while all available information pointed in the same direction.

Habighorst’s handling of this fight has raised questions about officiating standards and in-ring control. Referees are licensed to make fast, uncomfortable decisions to prevent unnecessary harm. When those decisions are repeatedly delayed in plain view, the question becomes unavoidable: how is this man still being assigned to fights of this level?