McCall KO 2 Lewis- was it a bad or good stop

In general I am against the sorts of quick stoppages that seem to have become the standard over the last 30 years, and as such, am inclined to say this was called too quick. I prefer the way old time refs handled it, interfering less with the action and letting fights go to their natural conclusion.

This said, I have seen FAR worse stoppages from this, where fighters were in much better condition. It's clear Lewis was very wobbly, and had they let it continue, he would almost certainly have been knocked out more definitively. So yeah, it should have been allowed to continue, but I highly doubt it would have changed the outcome.

 

I think if Mccall was someone like Tyson.. that will be a good stoppage, but because it is Mccall I feel it was a very bad stoppage.What I mean is Mccall got a granite chin (#1 in HW History) and good power but he always lacked the finishing abilities and clear mindset to take out opponents when chance presents itself. There are 4-5 Mccall fights where his opponents were obviously hurt and even a B Rated Finisher would have done the job. That being the case I don't know if Mccall could have finished Lewis in that round and once the round goes by, everything changes.
The problem with this fight is even HBO was calling out Don King on air over corruption and how the ref was Don's friend. Even HBO was calling it. The confirmation of Don King screwing over Lewis came to light in the Holyfield I fight.

 

His legs had gone but other guys have gone and survived with their legs being similarly gone. I don't blame the ref, but countless boxers have been in worse shape, survived and won.

Lennox mistake ofcourse was getting up too quick, get on your knee and listen to the count and slowly get up at 8

 

I think the fight was stopped early.

 

A quick stoppage. Lewis was no shakier than Frazier was after the first five knockdowns in Jamaica against Foreman.

 

Lewis got beat. Period. And there's no excuse, he wasn't old or shot; Lewis' mediocrity was simply exposed. When a fighter gets TKO'd in the 2nd round, their usually isn't much room for argument. If the fight had continued, Lewis would've got straight KO'd. Period.

 

Good stoppage, he was still shaking , I think if he got up and sort of walked it off a bit instead of hands up straight away trying to look ready to go when he was still off ,he might of got the benefit of the doubt.

 

If you run the Lewis stoppage side by side with Fraziers 2nd knock down they're almost identical.

I have no problem with the stoppage though I'd have liked it to continue just to see what happened.

 

Bad Stoppage, Lewis being the Champion should had least been given an opportunity to prove himself at the refs discretion.

 

I tend to agree. In most case, a fair stoppage. But this was for the Heavyweight championship, and I feel that the champion should get the benefit of the doubt.

That said, Lewis looked hurt and not on steady legs. The ref was looking right into his eyes and I guess he was the most qualified to decide to stop the fight or not.

It's not a highly contentious stoppage, but I've seen fighters that were more hurt being given a chance to survive.

 

Khan-Garcia comes to mind.

 

He was a decorated amateur, who at least should have known to gesture to the referee with hands upright to indicate preparedness to continue. Granted, this was not an amateur match, but if it was, there is no question that it would have been stopped under Olympic rules.

Regarding the analogies to Holmes-Shavers II and Holmes-Snipes, I don't see a rational case for Holmes-Shavers II being stopped under amateur guidelines. Larry got up quickly, never stumbled, and was walking off Earnie's knockdown of him immediately. Cameras zeroed in on his face sharply for signs of sensory compromise, and they really weren't evident.

Holmes-Snipes would be a much fairer comparison, if it wasn't for Renaldo's stupidity in standing over Larry with his arms upraised. That prematurely idiotic gesture caused the referee to physically escort Snipes to a neutral corner, so that his back was turned when Holmes fell face forward into the opposite corner from the one Renaldo was being led to. If the referee had seen Larry founder like that, boxing history may have changed that night.

Me, I'd have preferred Lennox continue in that situation, but I wasn't the referee, I wasn't looking into his eyes. Leaning forward into the referee's arms at the point the count would have been completed removes it from being an especially controversial stoppage.

 

Yes

Lewis had all the signs to point to stoppage, though many like to see that destructive and conclusive cant continue stoppage not the he shouldnt continue stoppage

 

.....good stop. lewis beiing champion is irrelevant. he was in danger of being hurt badly, and when that is true of any fighter, champion or not the ref should step in, as he did.