Better protection for hurt fighters beginning to be implemented.

Interesting,we were all talking about this the other week.

NJ Changes How Referees Assess Hurt Fighters After Knockdowns - Boxing News

Doesn't really give any mention of whether this would afford fighters extra time beyond the 10 count, and you couldn't even begin to list all the fights guys have gone on to win, after not being able to move a few steps laterally in the span of 10 seconds after being dropped. Maybe boxers should start start signing their life away in a waiver before turning pro? The risk of serious injury is what actually makes the sport economically viable, like it or not.

Not a bad idea. Some fighter fall forward rather than step forward, which even an unconscious person can sometimes do. "Out on their feet" but able to bluff the ref with a smile.

Maybe ask " do you want to continue?" And then say "step over here to me" and the ref moves laterally or slightly behind the fighter to see if he has any feet/balance at all.

Yes it would be 8-9 seconds of a count PLUS the additional time for the question and the stepping. Could wind up being 15 seconds before the action continues.

Seems OK.

I think the ref should ask a hurt fighter to repeat the alphabet backwards in Greek, recite Pi to sixteen digits, and then do their best impression of someone with a concussion, as a broad spectrum test of cognitive function.

This will lead to a lot of premature stoppages.

Leave the way it is. If a hurt fighter can continue, let him continue. If he fights and survives? So be it. If he ends up getting pounded more, let the ref jump in and stop it...like he always does.

I've NEVER seen a fight where a fighter suffered serious injury after a being allowed to continue from a knockdown. The ref always jumps in to stop the onslaught in a timely manner.

I've seen Hazzard berate his refs and jump into the ring to overrule them. Pretty sure he called Joe O'neil (?) a fat son of a bitch for telling Larry to sit down :-X. The problem is rooted in zero accountability and lack of continued training of refs rather than making it a glorified field sobriety test when its obvious a guy is clearly buzzed in the first place. If a guy is that hurt its best as it is to step straight and has worked fine..its also safer as the ref is directly in front and not out of reach to catch a guy trying to step right only to go sprawling away. Improve the tools, implementations and officials in place before adding more half measures and dance moves.

They are just trying to find a way to determine if theres a concussion or worse a brain bleed occurring before its too late. They are not trying to pussyify the sport.

The get up by ten or be counted out has to remain. Then this shit would have to go on for safety after the count its shouldnt stretch a count out, they have to be separate.

Still recon they could teach refs to shine a light in the iris to see if the brain has been impaired, would take all of 2 seconds each eye.They could even ask them what year it is and what month it is while doing it and have one wrist and clean one glove on their shirt while holding the fighter to them.

Anything out of whack in the eyes the doc is called in. Probably work out to be 25 seconds until the fight continued if their iris's still worked. In reality its probably between 16 to 20 sec now in most cases by the time the question "Are you ok to continue, do you want to go on?' is asked and any grit brushed from the gloves on his shirt and he steps out the way and says fight.

Recon you could teach any ref to do all checks and questions in 10 to 15 seconds easily.