Concerns About the Referee in Lewis-McCall I

How can you blame the referee when he counts to 10, he is asking the fighter if he is ok, the fighter is not only not responding but looking dazed, dizzy, his legs are wobbly, he is leaning on the ref and cant even stand straight? What would any sane referee do in that situation?

 

Well it appears that you know this from experience, but the stoppage while borderline, is legit.

 

Exactly what I was saying, Lewis being the undefeated Champion should have gotten the benefit of the doubt!!

Its all good LL got his revenge in the rematch when he made that crackhead cry..

 

Maybe. I'd throw in Carl Williams. He was far less shaky than Lewis when he got up from the Tyson Left Hook knockdown. Don was interested in Tyson winning that one.

That said

Lewis was very shaky and I've seen much worse stoppages.

 

I say Lewis is the champion and deserves the right to fight on and defend it, win or lose. I have seen far worse knockdowns of defending champions. This type of adversity is where champions of all time are forged. He deserved the opportunity to find out what he was truly made of.

 

The rules of boxing can't be bended. If someone is not ready after the count of 10 he gets counted out, champion or not.

Champions don't get knocked out like girls with just one shot to the face, you should be expected to take them.

 

Before the fight, Lewis' camp was so concerned about WBC/King/Sulaiman interference that they protested the referee and one of the judges. They were successful in removing the judge.

Controversial stoppage. Triggers the age-old debate of whether a champion should be given leeway when defending his title, or the viewpoint that the safety of the fighter is of paramount importance, regardless of whether a title is at stake or not (the latter being the argument used by Richard Steele in the first Chavez-Taylor fight).

Jimmy

 

He was not on his feet by 10 and would have been in no shape to continue regardless.

Being an undefeated champion doesn't give you extra consideration, nor does it entitle you to sustain severe brain damage or possibly get killed when you're unable to stand up straight, much less defend yourself.

 

The announcers weren't familiar with the referee, and it was a monster upset, so everyone blamed the ref.

Jose Garcia hadn't reffed many high-profile fights at the time. But he turned out to be a very good ref. He's still reffing fights today.

His stoppage was fine for most fights. In heavyweight title fights, most champs get more of an opportunity to continue. But, technically, the stoppage was fine.

 

He got up exactly as the ref counted 10. The same argument must be used for leni who was wobbling on his feet even after the count of ten.

 

You have to beat the 10 count, not get up exactly at the the count. He counts 10, it's over.

 

And you also have to be ready to fight on, be on steady legs when the ref counts ten and when the ref communicates with you.

 

Saintpat - you are wasting your time with Savak mate - the truth is interfering with his anti Lewis agenda.

 

Lennox was doing the chicken dance worse than Judah. No way he should've been allowed to fight on.

 

Lewis got up at around the count of 6. Started to stumble on unsteady legs. A more experienced referee, would probably have taken a few seconds to study Lewis. The WBC/King referee, didn't do that and stopped it immediately. I remember Holmes getting up from Snipes/Shavers knock downs in far worse shape. But Holmes fought for Don King at that time.

Ultimately, it's the fault of Lewis though for getting hit and going down. I think a heavyweight champion defending his title should have been allowed to continue, after beating the count. But Lewis got his title back regardless.