I think it was a bad stoppage, but you know what...this is the same ref of the Pac-Margo fight so where is the consistency?
How many of those actually landed?? Mike Jones threw like an 80 punch combo against Soto-Karass.. Imagine if he was the ref of Angulo-Kirkland? Look at Margo now
Twenty to twenty five. Including three dandies, and not including the first one that put him on ***** street. And there was over a minute left.
I think it was early but I can't fault the ref. Manfredo was hurt but he was avoiding shots. The ref only saw he wasn't firing back so he stopped the fight. I don't think there was any homecooking or anything - I think the ref had Manfredo's welfare in mind and erred on the side of caution. not the best stoppage, but definitely justifiable.
Manfredo had the wherewithal to try to move his head to avoid punches, so he wasn't totally on ***** street. He not a guy who holds when he's hurt. He wasn't ready to go. Now Bika had him ready to go.
Maybe he doesn't want to make the same mistake he did in that fight and now he's erring on the other extreme?
I thought it was stopped a tad prematurely, but I cant call it a bad stoppage. Manfredo had lost every round and in this scenario where he's hurt and not answering a fusilage of Chavez' punches, I think its better to err in the side of caution. Manfredo had not shown to be competitive in there.
Did anyone actually look at what was going on during the time of the stoppage... Manfredo wasnt even hit clean by like, the last 4 punches that were thrown, then goes in to hold, as the ref stops the action. Im not going to sit here and cry about the stoppage, do I think it was a bit early, ya... I can see why some would contest it. The worst part of that entire barrage had came and went, if the ref was going to stop it he should have done it when Manfredo was actually getting hit.
The referee appeared to be looking for an excuse to stop it. I've seen even worse stoppages, but it was clearly too early. I agree with what Dan Rafael said: [url]http://twitter.com/#!/danrafaelespn/status/138122468903755776[/url]
The first rule of Fight Club: NEVER say you agree with Dan Rafael, even when you think he's right. The second rule of Fight Club: NEVER say you agree with DAN RAFAEL, even when you think he's right.
The thing is though, fighters need to be realising this beforehand. If every hardcore fan knew that it was going to happen (a fast stoppage if there was a chance for one) then I dont see how team manfredo wouldnt. You gotta know you cant allow your opponent to throw 15 punches like that without you doing something He could have circled off the ropes, fired something back in between, if he was still too buzzed for that, he should have clinched. Ya I know, hes not the kind of fighter to do that, well... I guess he should start. Nobody is saying be John Ruiz in there, but its kinda basic to not let yourself get tee'd off on and give the ref of the star a chance to halt the fight like that. just imo though, was hoping manfredo would do himself proud and I think he did, hope he has one more fight though so he can go out on a win in front of his people.