The primary responsibility of a referee is the safety of the fighters. Smoger's stoppage of the Kirkland-Tapia fight was disgraceful. When Smoger stepped in he held Tapia, not Kirkland. Any good referee knows he has to restrain the fighter inflicting the damage, not the other way around. Tapia could have been severely injured by the last punch Kirkland threw. There is no way of knowing for sure what damage that punch did but you can bet it wasn't good. And later, you could see Smoger joking around with Kirkland. "Smoger, you idiot, you should have been in Tapia's corner telling them how sorry you were for mismanaging the stoppage, that you meant to grab Kirkland but failed in your duties." Smoger is an idiot and has clearly been tainted by his involvement in the game, getting too close to those he perceives as the being on the winning side. We don't need refs like Smoger in the fight game.
Smoger is a brilliant ref but one of the cold-hearted ones for sure. He definitely should've stepped in earlier in the said fight.
the doctor told him he would allow it to continue the round before. Blame more on the doctor than smoger. ****, even blame more on the corner. It was smoger in the end who stopped it ultimately.
I agree but I wouldn't worry about the last punch, more like the 20 unanswered shots Kirkland landed while Smoger just stood there
No question the fight should have been stopped sooner. Tapia was taking too much damage. But when Smoger stepped in he should have grabbed Kirkland. Instead, he let Kirkland get off several more shots, the last one being the most damaging. You're right, though, Tapia's corner screwed up big time.
I guess what bothers me the most, and we have all seen this, is when a "name" fighter gets rocked/out on his feet the ref is quick to get in there and defend him. However, when a lesser known fighter is getting pummeled the ref just lets it go. Simply blood lust, paying homage to the fans.
you ever seen smoger referee? the guy is blood lust incarnate lol. I highly doubt he did it just because tapia was unknown.
I rarely miss a non-PPV televised fight, so yeah, I have seen Smoger ref a lot of fights. I have never noticed him to be this incompetent before. He is either getting lazy, old or corrupt. Take your pick.
smoger is corupt he always leans in favour of the favourite to win the fight or the american vs non american
***** when it's stopped early, ***** when it's stopped late. News for ******s: If you don't want "fights being stopped early," then you will have to live with the possibility that some will be stopped late. You can't have it both ways. That being said: Smoger is an excellent referee. **** off.
No, you're missing the point. Yes, the fight should have been stopped earlier and his corner should have been the one to initiate it. In this case, though, it was how the stoppage was done. Smoger f'ed up big time. AND given the proximity to the Abdusalamov fight I am amazed Smoger didn't stop it sooner. There is a right way and a wrong way to stop a fight. Smoger's stoppage was text book wrong, how not to stop a fight. I could see a new, inexperienced ref doing this but not someone with his level of experience. When this is all you do, ref fights, you should know how to perform your duties. Smoger is a professional who performed like a rank amateur.
