BTW, is it common over there for the ring physician to go inside the ring and examine the fighter as opposed to here in the U.S where he stays outside the ring and let the ref bring the fighter to him? Just asking.
The Mccloskey stoppage was bad, and Khan's accuracy looked sh*t. But if he was losing every round WITHOUT the cut, how could he have beaten Khan WITH the cut?
This was a world championship fight. No way it should have been stopped. The ref should have let it continue to see if it got worse or if the blood bothered McCloskey. People can say that the stoppage saved McCloskey from further punishment but that is off the mark and irrelevant for the issue at hand. A terrible stoppage that makes you wonder if Khan would have been stopped if it was him who was cut. Remember when Khan fought Barrerra. That fight was allowed to continue too long and just so long that the fight could go to the cards. Against Kristiansen Khan was allowed to blatantly foul his downed opponent. Bottom line is that there's enough evidence to say that Khan gets all the help he can get when he fights in Britain.
I didn't see the fight live, was listening to the fight on the radio and the commentators were making the point when Barry Hearn was kicking off after the fight that McCloskey seemed less upset that the fight was stopped than any of the rest of his team.
The way it looked to me is that McCloskey wanted out (at least that was my hunch at the time) , the cut was his get out clause , once his corner seen the severity of the cut or lack of , they through a wobbler with Hearn leading the charge . This is when McCloskey decided to join the party in terms of protesting against the decision to halt the action .
Yeah, Barrerra's cut was insane. Blood just flat out gushin' down his face...for like 2 or 3 rounds too. Like you'd said, long enough so that it could go to the cards. And unless the rules there are way different to anywhere else, then why did the doctor ENTER the ring?? The fight doctor is supposed to stand on the apron and make a quick assessment (without helping or applying pressure, etc.) . (of course I'm not sayin' he did that here, is just the rules)
The head butt was the most solid contact Khan made in the fight, there is no reason why McCloskey wouldn't want to continue, it's not like he was getting beat up, he didn't have a mark on him before the butt. Chances are Khan would've fought to a UD but there were more than 6 rounds left and you cannot assume what will happen in boxing, that is why terrible stoppages like this are so damaging to the sport, and why the only fair resolution is to give McCloskey a rematch.
It was definitely a little premature and it was the ref that called the doctor into the ring to take a look. A bad decision by the doc without a doubt. McCloskey put up no fight whatsoever when the ref called it though. He didn't look upset in the slightest. You would have thought after that "outrage" he might have showed some signs of disagreement. ???
The facts of the case: Headbutt was accidental. The cut did NOT merit a stoppage. McCloskey was very upset that the fight was stopped. Khan won two rounds narrowly and four rounds widely, so the result was good. Neither man was in much trouble, so the last six rounds would probably have looked the same. Paul had the possibility of stopping Khan at any stage of the fight, so he always had a chance. With that cut, it was more likely that Khan would have stopped McCloskey if the fight continued. McCloskey got a dream chance, and Khan didn't look like he was going to make any errors. Most likely outcome, if no stoppage, was a shutout for Khan. Unless Paul defeats an elite 140 lber, no real call for a rematch.
McCloskey couldn't see the cut and the doctor was telling him it was severe enough that he had to wave off the fight, what could he say at that moment? You can hear him ask his corner later if it is bad or not and he became more upset after realizing it wasn't.