Generally, any bout that involves a major world title is under the Unified Rules, which states that a fighter cannot be saved by the bell in ANY round.
I believe that in that kind of situation referees are trained only to assess the boxers ability to continue fighting at the moment. There is to be no decision made based on how much time is left in the round or how many rounds are left in the fight. Didn't Richard Steele stop a fight in the 12th with a second or 2 to go? Sometimes it sucks, but it's a health and safety issue I think.
How long has it been like this? I seem to recall many fights being introduced with the caveat that the fighter can only be saved by the bell in the final round. And in the past could fighters be saved by the bell in any round?
Don't know about that. People react differently, not everyone goes crazy at the referee. Ortiz is an older guy. Personally I thought he gave a look like, what am I supposed to do, why is the referee stopping this... But to be honest, I don't recall him in an interview talking about it (maybe the language barrier). I know his trainer was talking like it was a soft stoppage. This content is protected EDIT: Ortiz DID complain about the stoppage. From the post fight video his body language and answer makes it pretty clear he felt a certain way about it: The question and answer starts at 22:17. Sorry can't time stamp on my smart phone.
Thanks for the answers. But I seem to recall the fighter has to beat the ten count, then it is at the referees discretion on length of assessment. Not that the decision must be made within the ten count. E.g. Fury v Wilder 1. Though that isn't to say the referee isn't within his rights to not bother with a ten count if it is clear the fighter can't continue. I would have to check the rules again. Which is the reason for my questions, in this case, the referee doesn't complete the full ten count. Ortiz is about to beat the count, and the ref waves it off. Leaving Ortiz standing there looking more perplexed than hurt.
It should have been stopped when the ref had to pull Watson to the centre to touch gloves, he could hardly stand.
One of the most beautiful things in boxing. Not as beautiful as Tarver, though. "I got a question. You got any excuses tonight, Roy?"
Don’t have a major issue with the Ortiz stoppage but like I said, it’s a grey area, ref should of let him recover between rounds, it’s a championship fight but can see why he didn’t. I’m all for letting fighters fight, especially when I have been on the receiving end of a early stoppage myself, believe me, it fvcking sucks!
