When to Stop the Fight - Myth of Common Early Stoppages

[Nerdslayer]

The referee's job is a lot harder than it looks. He's got to make a call in real time, with thousands of people watching.

That said, I'm fine with them stopping the fight as soon as someone goes limp, even if only for a second. At that point, the damage is done.

What I don't like are the kind of stoppages that occur just because a guy is covering up, and the opponent just rains down a bunch of shots that aren't landing. I get that you need to fight back to make the ref see that you are still in the fight, but I wish the refs did a better job of acknowledging when punches aren't landing.

But that just circles back to my original point. The ref has a tough job.

By rules you must defend yourself, covering up like a turtle is not "intelligently" defending yourself. That's why Big John tells fighters about the difference of defending and 'intelligently" defending all the time.

 

[Otto!]

I agree that the referee has a tough job, without the benefit of replays like the fans do.

I don't have an issue with a stoppage when a fighter is turtling up. The fighters know it's a cause for stoppage, and yet they still do it. It's almost like giving up without having to tap to strikes.