Fenster makes an interesting point.... I never thought of it like that.

The one thing is did think was maybe it was the refs duty to call a stop to the action immediately. Like when a fighter is out on his feet on the ropes... The other guy is gonna keep pummeling away until the ref calls a stop to the action (David Tua-v-John Ruiz, Jerry Cooney-v-Ken Norton etc..).

Is that (in accordance with the relevant rules & regs) any different to when a fighters slips and is in no position to defend himself? Isn't it the ref's duty to call a stop to the action?

I'm not knowledgable on such instances, so no this is NOT a rhetorical question