Which fight had a more justifiable stoppage, or did the ref make the correct decision in both cases? I'm intested in getting ESB's opinions.
Both are justifiable, although Tsyzu-Judah is a lot more clear cut. Judah couldn't stay on his feet, and the ref simply followed the rules of the time by stopping the fight when Judah fell back down. Chavez-Taylor is tougher, but Taylor didn't respond to the question twice, didin't raise his hands, was beat to **** by the end of the fight, and the ref is not a timekeeper. If a fighter wants to keep the ref from stopping the fight, at least responding to the ref's questions would be a good way to start. (Of course, Taylor was so messed up that he swore in the post-fight interview that Steele stopped the fight without asking him anything, so what does that tell you?) [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSqTVCOZ-K8[/ame] (Merchant's post-fight interview with Taylor starts at about 1:20, and at about 2:05 Taylor starts saying how Steele never said anything to him or asked him if he was ok... just before the replay shows Steele twice asking if Meldrick was ok).
The Judah one was absolutely fine and I don't have a problem with the Taylor one at all, it shouldn't matter when the ref stops the fight...if a fighters done he's done. The safety of the fighter should come first.
Both were out of it but even at Judah's dazed state he made an attempt to kinda talk to the ref. I'm a Taylor fan but lets be honest Steele for once did the right thing of stopping that fight. Judah didn't have his legs behind him and they were made out of jello and that would've been cruel to let that fight go on too.
I thought both times they were good decisions based on rules. Judah did get up and go down and the rules were clear. With Meldrick, Steele was protecting Meldrick
Ha ha! Judah was breakdancing like a prime MC Hammer, while Taylor couldn't even work out he was being asked a question.
