It's not about rewarding the fighter in that case, it's about having one set of rules no matter the circumstances are. The current rules mean that a fighter can win purely out of luck/exaggerating, Lorenzo against Soto, or lose because of an accident, Jones against Griffin. It's only fair to have one set of rules no matter what has happened before or after the incident. It's not about giving or taking advantages, it's the only way to be fair.
similair thing happened with emanual augustus and hurtado (at 3:55): [yt]f6-4XkUOW-c[/yt] and yet hurtado wasnt DQ'd since augustus wasnt KO'd... :think
There were a number of things that lead to the DQ. Dirrell was cornered and in trouble. Abraham was in killer mode. The ref did a bad job by not being more involved. Dirrell started acting. It didn't have to be a DQ. I don't favor either guy.
Interestingly, the referee did not break the action before the final punch. Could it be classed as a Mayweather/Gatti-like punch? The most important rule is protect yourself at all times and Dirrell didn't. Assuming the referee didn't break the action, Abraham was legally ok to hit his downed opponent.
Personally, I thought the referee had no choice. He can't say Dirrell is playacting, how could he know that? Abraham blatantly broke the rules, and unless Dirrell jumps up and tries to fight on, he has no option but to issue a DQ. I know it sucks, because the verdict is therefore dependent on the actions of the struck fighter, but there really isn't any other way to treat these incidents. Abraham broke the rules, and by doing so he leaves it in the hands of Dirrell and the ref, he can't feel hard done by, and if Dirrell doesn't try to restart the fight, the ref has no choice. You can't issue a no contest, because then every losing fighter is going to try and get DQ'd in a similar fashion to avoid the conclusive loss.
That's true, but the other side to that argument is that guys can exaggerate an accidental headbutt or whatever, stay down and win by DQ. That's why I think: 1) The previous action in the fight should not be taken into consideration, so it doesn't matter whether aguy has won or lost all the previous rounds. 2) The aftermath of said blow shouldn't matter. Whether it's a small bump or a huge gash, it doesn't make it any more illegal. Had Dirrell got up quickly, the punishment would have been a point deduction, so it's unfair to judge depending on the severity because it's so easy to exploit it. 3) The only fair end to the fight would be to go to the judges. Soto deserved to win, Jones did and Dirrell did, yet all three were robbed in a different way.
This is a good question. If Abraham had won every minute of every round up to that point (without managing to KO Dirrell), I think people's feelings would be much more mixed. And if, on top, Dirrell had fought like he did against Froch, only a minority would agree that Abraham should have been DQed. However, even so, AA should have been DQed because he threw an illegal punch that to any objective well-placed observed looked to be an intentional, hard punch intended to knock Dirrell out.
Because it's actually right? Sure, it's bending the rules and wrong, but until the referee says "break", you can legally hit your opponent.
Not if he is down. This is what you're not getting. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HIT YOUR OPPONENT WHEN HE IS DOWN. EVER.
But it's the referee who decides when they are down. Until the referee says they're down, they aren't.
And the referee had decided that Dirrell was down. If this kind of call can be made against Roy Jones, it can be made against ANYONE.