HBO, Fire Lennox.

:good Great post, Kirk.

Additionally, I'd like to add that Paulie visibly had nothing left. He looked NOTHING like the Paulie we are used to seeing by the 11th round. McGirt did a wise thing in stopping his totally spent fighter from catching any more punishment.

 

Indeed. If a guy is still standing, not even CLOSE to getting knocked out, then the fight should continue. Fights should only be stopped when someone is either knocked out or clearly defenseless. This is boxing, not softball leagues. Jeez.

WTF is it with boxing fans these days?? I just don't get it. They seem to think fights should be stopped simply because they are non-competitive!! Nuts! Fighters should be allowed to finish fights if they can. And when I was growing up this is what REAL boxing fans wanted to see. WARS, to the bitter end!!!

 

Where would we end up if as soon as a fighter looks like he can no longer win and is just doing his best to limit the damage and to survive would get stopped by his corner, before the referee considers he has taken too much damage or is defenceless? I'd say a third of all fights would be corner stoppages. Ridiculous! People pay good money to see these fighters fight for 12 rounds unless one of them KOs the other or hurts him enough for the referee to stop the fight early. It is acceptable for the corner to save their fighter if he is taking too much damage and the referee is not stopping it, but it is not acceptable for the corner to stop the fight just because their fighter doesn't follow the gameplan, doesn't look like winning and doesn't give his all to win the fight anymore. No one forces fighters to get into the ring, but if they do, they have to fight and be allowed to fight for the whole 12 rounds. Anything else is shortchanging the fans. Fighting is not just about throwing punches, but also about taking punishment like a man, when you can no longer win, proving your heart, your toughness and your will to survive. These are characteristics that make a great fighter as much as speed, chin, power, skill, etc.

 

"Fighting is also about taking punishment like a man"???????!!!!

Im glad you're not my trainer!

Im sure most fighters would agree that taking punishment is not the idea.

 

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If you're not prepared to grit your teeth, take punishment and fight to survive, professional boxing is not for you. Stick to the amateur pitty-patty version. That's all about scoring points not hurting your opponent. More like dancing than fighting.

 

Do you or have you boxed?

 

Lennox is the perfect examply of you can be good at your job even if your bad.

He is an absolote legend and one of my favourite boxers of all time but some of his comments (Not including this one) make me cringe.

 

Yes, I have. So I know what I'm talking about.

 

Just seems odd. All boxing hurts. That includes amateurs.

 

Between the 3rd and 10th round Malignaggi proved that he had the heart, toughness and will to keep going. He did what was necessary to prove himself, he gave us everything that he was capable of giving on that night, what more can you want?

It's a fine line between valiant and fooling since we all know that taking a beating for 12 rounds is far worse on the body and the brain then getting sparked in the first few rounds. There has to come a point when you can safely say the guy's giving it all and can do no more, get him out of there before he gets hurt beyond the point of superficial bruising.

Every other sport has substitutions and back-ups, let boxing have the early stoppage.

 

It sure does, but professional boxing is all about pain and overcoming it, unlike amateur boxing. Have you watched professional distance runners run too quickly, gas, hit the wall hard and then see their lead eaten up? Why don't they all give up when they see lesser runners pass them? Why do most of them keep on running, even if it seems like they're running backwards? Because they're professionals. Getting to the finish line is what they do, no matter how hard, they keep trying. That's what makes them great even if they don't win. It's the same with professional boxers.

 

I understand that logic.

I tend to like Richard Steele's answer on how he determines whether to stop the fight. He said something like

"When I'm refereeing a fight, I wait until I see that a fighter is one punch away from being knocked out. It is my job to stop the fight, if I can, before that punch happens."

 

Malignaggi didn't prove **** in that fight, except that he could hug like the best of them. He wasn't getting hurt particularly badly at all. He could have continued and should have been allowed to do so. He could then have left the ring with some honor, for having at least fought 12 full rounds.

 

That's a good philosophy. Malignaggi was a long, long way from being one punch away from being knocked out, though. Bayless was surprised himself to see the towel come flying in.