We are fast to criticize?and rightly so?Laurence Cole for his abysmal performance in the Lomachenko-Salido affair, and we do not hesitate to go after those involved in the Magomed tragedy, but what about when a referee does the right thing?
In the Canelo slaughter of Alfredo Angulo, Tony Weeks took a quick step in at the 2:38 mark of the tenth round and looked as if he might stop the beatdown but then backed off looking for a better spot. Then, as the Dog took an uppercut, Weeks stepped in and stopped the blood sport without hesitation.
This was the same Tony Weeks who took a hard look at Mike Alvarado after he put his body on the line and got badly clubbed by a Siberian monster named Ruslan Provodnikov.
?I asked Mike two to three times, ?Do you want to continue??? said Weeks. ?And Mike said each time, ?No.?? Weeks promptly stopped the Mile High mugging for a TKO on the chair before the start of the eleventh round. The fact is, Alvarado has been in too many damaging bouts and, for that matter, so has Angulo. More importantly, referees know these things as part of their preparation for a fight.
Sometimes a third man will look for a spot in which to stop a fight. This happened when Pacquiao dismantled Miguel Cotto and Kenny Bayless finally found the right point at the 0:55 mark of Round 12.
This same scenario presented itself to Tony Weeks in the tenth round and he took advantage of it when Perro ate the uppercut. It also appeared that Weeks might have conferred with the ringside doctor between rounds nine and ten but I could not corroborate this. At any rate, Tony was concerned because that?s the type of referee he is?one who shows concern for the welfare of the fighter.
Now we see articles and posts criticizing the stoppage as ?premature.? Yet when a Steve Smoger allows a James Kirkland to beat on a defenseless Glen Tapia, the outrage is somewhat more muzzled.
The outcome of this fight was written in stone and the only issue remaining was whether Hunter or Weeks would save Angulo from himself, with the possibility of irreversible damage being suffered. Once again, the age-old adage emerges to wit: It is always better to stop a fight too soon than too late. Manifestly, in this instance Tony Weeks did the right thing and anyone who disagrees with this has a short memory.
You can?t have it both ways.
Ted Sares is a private investor who enjoys writing about boxing. A member of the Elite Powerlifting Federation, Ted is one of the oldest active competitors in the world and holds several state records.
