By worst I mean premature. Probably the worst case of this for me would be Maccarinelli vs Ovill Mckenzie, the ref realised he had made a mistake almost immediately. Calzaghe vs Manfredo is another one that comes to mind. Add your own.
I always thought the Khan/McCloskey stoppage for that feeble cut was pathetic - if that counts? No need to stop a fight for that type of cut.
I do agree given the occasion but I but I firmly believe Froch would have finished him off anyway if the fight was allowed to continue. Carson Jones v Rose 1 is a recent IJL special that springs to mind although Jones had caught him, in contrast to another IJL classic Vitali vs Briggs.
I don't mind Froch VS Groves. George was wobbled bad and hurt took a couple more and was reeling. I can understand not letting a puncher like Froch have a free dig on a guy who has been visibly rocked.
Was Froch not rocked in that 1st round though? It could be argued that his sluggishness in the first half of the fight was attributed to being sparked in the first round. Groves was not given the same leeway has Froch in that fight. Froch was given count so surely Groves should have been given a standing count? On reflection, I think Froch would have probably have won later in that fight too but it was stopped prematurely. I've noticed this in a number of fights where the ref steps in sooner for one fighter than he would for another. For example, if Bellew's achilles would have gone and he was against the ropes taking that many shots from Haye, the ref would have stopped it.
Yep he was sure... but that was the first round. when Froch got up her was clear-eyed and ready.. After 9 hard grueling rounds you have to take into account the damage that's gone before while Froch was off early in the fight he still landed punches and the later the fight went the more he landed. Groves bossed the early rounds but was running out of gas hence his stance, head moment etc all coming apart, Then Froch landed finishing shots Can standing counts always be given? Does it depend on the boards rules? (genuinely not sure). I think it was a touch early I would have maybe let Froch try and mount one last attack but where do you draw the line on a tired opponent who has given his all and now taken hard heavy punches. In fairness Haye V Bellew although Tony was landing Haye didnt seem in that much trouble from the actual punches it was a stoppage rather than a KO if that makes sense he couldn't defend himself because of his leg. Plus Haye is the bigger man and a known puncher I expect these all play a factor in Refs minds if things were the other way around. If Paulie M was wailing away at someone on the ropes I imagine the ref would give the opponent the most chance to ride the storm because he cant punch.
In terms of the rules was there anything IJL could have done differently at that immediate instance where he realised he'd f*cked up? If memory serves, he didn't actually start waving until after he'd jumped in. Could he have given a standing 8 - is that an option in the pros. Is the act of jumping in itself an end to the fight or does the ref actually have to do the waving bit?
Worst was Enzo v Ovil but that fight is why IJL is a god to me. I had 4k on that fight ending early and that stoppage had me going wild
IJL is terrible. I loved how Bernard Hopkins completely disregarded him and his authority in the second Pascal fight. Froch Groves may have been a punch or two premature but Groves was fading the last 1-2 rounds leading up to the stoppage and you could see where it was going. Chavez Taylor was bad. Contrary to popular belief Chavez didnt ruin Taylor. Norris and Espana back to back KO losses did. There were 2-3 seconds left it would have been almost impossible for Chavez to hurt Taylor anymore or maybe even land on taylor again considering he had to start at the other end of the ring and Taylor would have survived.
