Joe Cortez is a disgrace

If Kirkland needs an even softer touch than tonight's opponent to get by... then there is no hope for him anyways. You are blaming his promoter because the man got knocked out in the first round by a guy with 6 losses against subpar competition, only 7 previous knockouts in 30 fights spanning over 11 years... doesn't have a single win over anyone in the top 30 (being generous)... and coming off a loss! You can try to twist it any way that you want, but you can't get a much softer touch on an HBO PPV card. That's just pathetic. There is no excuse for that, and there is nobody to blame except Kirkland... and congrats to his opponent for coming to win.

 

:rofl

 

It's possible Cortez saw that JMM wasn't done and that Kirkland was. He's had enough years of experience to see any tells that this is the case.

Fact is, he DID let JMM continue, and it was the right call. Just because there is no 3kd rule doesn't mean if 3kds happen, don't stop the fight.

 

Doesn't matter if he was going to go down for sure, that is why they have matches and fighters actually fight. The only check Cortez was supposed to do is see if Kirkland could beat the count, and check his eyes and his ability to follow instructions once he beat the count, such as walk forward and raise your gloves and etc.

Cortez did not do his job, Kirkland should have been allowed to continue if he could have beat the count, jumping up and down on a guy who is trying to get up isn't protecting him.

 

Experience and training. Within the past couple of months Smoger said why he didn't stop Pavlik/Taylor 1 in the second. He had attended a seminar where they were told that a shot behind the ear is disorienting but fighters can come back fully from that kind of shot. Since he knew that was the kind of shot Kelly had taken he just watched to make sure Kelly could defend himself properly and gave him the time needed. Also, the less important the fight it always seems the more likely the ref is to stop it quicker because there just isn't that much on the line.

 

Under the circumstances I think he should have at least allowed Kirkland to get up and evaluate him. I think, following the reasoning above, there may be some unspoken 3 KD rule in effect for the lower level fights. Ref gets his check and goes home earlier.

 

it really is mezmorising ....like a lava lamp (no homo)

 

The big difference for me is before Pac's first knockdown, JMM was holding his own. He even landed a nice left that backed Pac up after he got up from the 2nd knockdown. On the contrary, Kirkland wasn't doing anything significant to Ishida, not to mention his legs were turning into wet noodles. I think Cortez knew Kirkland's defense was trash and he pretty much had no chance against Ishida.

 

hahaha

 

Agree. I think that seeing Kirkland on wobbly legs a couple times+the kds=the stoppage. Not the best stoppage ever, but seriously, it was an 8 rounder, not a championship. I have no issues with the stoppage, although it would have been interesting to see if Kirkland could have (not of, good call on whoever pointed that one out) done anything.

And let's not fail to give props to Nobuhiro Ishida. He came with a plan and came to win. Props to him for that. Hope to see him again soon; MW needs as many intriguing fighters as it can get.

EDIT--Let me just say that I'm not a fan of Cortez at all, for reasons already given, but again, no issues with the stoppage.

 

It isn't much of a controversy for me and I hate Cortez.

don't want it in the hands of the ref, pretty simple....don't get your ass knocked down three times in 1 rnd.

 

Haven't seen you around much lately. How's it going?

It was nice to see the crowd boo James and cheer Ishida. Hell, it was actually GREAT to see the fans there cheer the kid. You could tell he appreciated it.

 

Damn he shut all that "stupid" **** down with this post. The fight should not have been stopped.

 

Good to see ya! Saw pipe and boo in another thread too and it brought me back to the KP glory days (soon to be in chapter 2!). I'm ok, been having some nagging, semi-moderately-kinda-annoying medical problems for the last 6 mos or so and just had surgery done a couple weeks ago. I've mainly been lurking, since my internet is usually through my phone, and it's hard to write a good response on the stupid thing, and as you know, I tend to get a little wordy....

Anyways, yeah. I was really thinking about buying this card, but since I haven't been working, money is tight so I just followed the RBR and naturally it turned out to be a good card. FML. I'd really like to see Ishida again on a major platform (Shobox or BAD undercard or the like). He was focused and had a plan. Props to him for keeping his head as a major underdog and executing. Gotta love it.:good

 

Hmmm.... Was the 3 knockdown rule in effect for this fight? If I remember correctly there was no 3 knockdown rule in effect for the Pac/JMM fight.

If it was not in effect then you do bring up a valid point. :good