AJ didn't quit, he was waiting for the ref to replace his gum-shield. Fact.

**ykdadamaja** · 06-04-2019 02:29 AM

Shit stoppage, IMHO. But the ref must have seen something or heard something he did not like from AJ.

**TitoFan** · 06-04-2019 02:40 AM

I think we're being too harsh on AJ, as well as going overboard with the word "quit."

Should AJ have shoved the ref to the ground in obvious anger after the "wave-off"? AJ was clearly buzzed. He was leaning back into the corner, but looking at the ref. It's the ref's job to decide whether the fighter is apt to continue. Quitting, IMO, would've been if AJ had shaken his head no.... or voiced as much to the ref.

**Memphis** · 06-04-2019 03:13 AM

It was a strange one given that he was upright in good time, responding to the referees instructions. You'd think he'd give him every opportunity to continue and decided that was the time to call it. There we're no histrionics from AJ or his team, a token protest from AJ himself but that was it. They knew he was toast so the ref you would have to say did a good job. He wasn't getting back into that.

They seemed to speak quite a bit in the corner before the ref waved it off.

**Mark TKO** · 06-04-2019 03:42 AM

Agreed AJ didn't seem too fussed it was waved off or put up any protest and we've seen many boxers kick off when they want to continue.

See Lewis v McCall and Frank Maloney (now penisless) having a go afterwards

**powerpuncher** · 06-04-2019 05:02 AM

It was a weird stoppage but not a terrible one. The ref told him to walk forward multiple times and AJ just stood there.

**Ron Swanson** · 06-04-2019 02:19 PM

As many fighters have said “when you start looking to your corner you’re asking out, all fighters know this” add that the ref repeatedly asked him to step forward and he didn’t means good stoppage. How long had it been, 20 seconds? I’ll go count and edit this

Edit-24 seconds before he waved it off, that’s a long time

**Gandalf** · 06-04-2019 07:14 PM

It was a strange one. My initial position was that it was an early stoppage as Joshua was having a nightmare but he didn't seem 'hurt'. I mean obviously he must have been to keep going down, but he certainly didn't get Fury'ed or anything like that. I assumed Joshua was being given extra time as he was the money man and he wasn't wobbling about or doing anything strange. He seemed to have his senses, though by walking backwards, hands down, eating punches in the 6th, maybe he didn't. But yes, he had a massive amount of time and seemed to show no desire to continue. You would never see James Toney acting like that. He would just shake his head, sneer, hold his hands up, and get back on with it. Joshua might have his Gold medal, but he wasn't born to fight like a Toney or a Calzaghe. Those guys took the punches and if they went down then straight back on with it.

**Fenster** · 06-06-2019 01:16 AM

Originally Posted by Ron Swanson

As many fighters have said “when you start looking to your corner you’re asking out, all fighters know this” add that the ref repeatedly asked him to step forward and he didn’t means good stoppage. How long had it been, 20 seconds? I’ll go count and edit this

Edit-24 seconds before he waved it off, that’s a long time

Many fighters have said that's nonsense too. One fighter looks at his corner for help another to signal they're fine.

It's utterly irrelevant counting seconds, boxing history is littered with "long counts," and the refs judgment influence the outcome every week.

Not sure if you're old enough to remember this epic, but Corrales has at least double the time Joshua has here.