Arthur Abraham vs. Piotr Wilczewski, March 31st 2012

:think If it was only a bruise then I agree, that is essentially just quitting in circumstances where many fighters can (and have) fought on through the pain.

A break is more serious. If it had actually been a break, IMO the sequence of events should be:

- Fighter tells ref his hand is broken.
- Ref calls to timekeeper for a temporary halt.
- Physician at ringside examines hand.
- If physician rules a break: NC before whatever the round limit is (for accidental foul injuries), TD if after that point.
- If physician rules no break: Ref gives fighter an ultimatum. Continue now, or you are forfeiting and lose by TKO.


Abraham simply holding his elbows up and having Bozic smash his hand on them doesn't prove anything about either one being a superior fighter. For all we know Bozic's hands were improperly wrapped (true, that isn't Abraham's fault - but it also doesn't have anything to do with who the superior fighter is...just who has the more inept corner...)

If there was immediate physical evidence of an elbow-blocked punch breaking someone's hand in the third round, you wouldn't be OK with the general guideline being a NC (and then hopefully have them settle the matter at a later date in a rematch, same as if the injury was from an accidental foul?)

The way I see it, accidents are accidents. Bozic throwing a punch, Abraham elbow-blocking, and Bozic's hand breaking - that's a fluke accident. Nobody's fault, not a foul - but still an accidental injury (assuming a real break and not a bruise). Easy enough for the ringside physician to step in and make a quick determination whether it's a genuine injury warranting a discontinuation of action from the fluke accident - same as he would determine whether it's a genuine injury warranting a discontinuation of action from an accidental foul...or same as he would make such a determination on a cut from an accidental head clash. If it's worth discontinuing the action and calling it a no contest due to a bad cut caused by a head clash (or going to the cards for a TD after a certain # of rounds), why isn't it worth discontinuing the action and calling it a no contest in the event there is a legitimate injury caused by an accident that didn't happen to be caused by a foul but just a fluke occurrence in the course of the action? Your argument is that the injured party is therefore proven to have a weaker body and can't sustain, so the non-injured party deserves to win by virtue of being ready to go. Does that not contradict the standing rule for cuts? The logic isn't "Oh, the guy who got cut - or cut worse - from that headbutt, he is proven to have a weaker body/glass skin and therefore deserves a loss because the other guy has thicker tissue or was luckier to not cut and is still ready to go..." Nahmsayin?




In the case of this bout I'll just take your word for it that Bozic simply had a bruise and no actual bone breakage serious enough that the officials ought to have stopped it. :conf

In general, though... ^ :deal

 

FYI, for those remaining certain of a quick KO...

The real-life Over/Under odds have undergone a glacial shift over the course of this week.

They opened five days ago at:

Over 9.5 rounds 13/8 (1.62)
Under 9.5 rounds 8/13 (0.62)

...which is how the vBookie event was accordingly set up.

Since then, they've flipped.

The Over 9.5 rounds prop is now going for 4/7, while the Under is 11/8. :think

 

True, but Wilk does sometimes hang in the pocket and that's when JDG was able to drill him a few times.

He also got stopped by Curtis Stevens, who is maybe the all-time worst at dealing with movers... :err

 

I'm very high on Ward, and have him #1 at 168lbs (and have for a while) - but I'm not so sure about "good power". :think People who say he's packing feather dusters might be underrating his pop a bit, but he's certainly not much harder a hitter than average. Froch of course is on a completely different level/opposite end of the spectrum from Wilczewski in power...as is Dirrell. Ward...well, he's a much better fighter than Wilk for many other reasons. Power not being among them.

 

:nod Well debated.

I concede the point. You're right, altering the rules as they stand would cause more harm than good.

I just loathe inconclusive results that go down officially one way or the other on records...like Kirkland DQ10 Molina, for instance. Valuev TKO3 McCline & Abraham TKO2 Bozic - while technically ruled correctly per the rules as you've argued - both still feel similarly inconclusive to me (although Valuev probably would have beaten McCline anyway...and Abraham most likely would have gotten at least a hometown decision if not a late stoppage over Bozic...)



Escopeta TKO2 IB

(but only because I got carpal tunnels/bruised finger joints typing up all these responses! :|)