Quote Originally Posted by Bilbo View Post
I don't think it should have been stopped, Bute had won every single round and was seconds away from finishing the fight, I really don't think most other ref's would have stopped it at all whilst he was on his feet.

Kelly Pavlik looked just as out of it against Jermain Taylor in round 3 of their fight but was allowed to fight on and win. Raphael Marquez was almost out against Vazquez in the third fight but he wasn't stopped.

I think the count was looooooooooong but Bute got up anyway and the bell was about to immediately sound.

He would have survived to the bell just by standing to his feet (which he did) and it would have been a bigger travesty had the referee counted him out.

Basically the bell rung when Bute was in the same position as Jermain Taylor against Carl Froch. Taylor was sprawled on the canvas but managed to just pull himself up and stay on his feet for a few more seconds before the ref stepped in and saved him.

Had Taylor been stopped prior to the knockdown it would have been premature there, and stopping Bute prior to being knocked down would have been premature here too.

The ref did a shit job of the count, but Bute did what he had to do and beat the count.

Much is made of the delay in starting the count by Marlon Wright, but Bute is already up and on his feet when the count begins, hence he beat the count.

Andrade just left it too late.
No way was Pavlik as out of it as Bute, he took punches off Taylor & Smoger checked his eyes & you could tell thought about stopping it. The difference was Bute was not really firing back & was failing to protect himself (I thought the same in the 3rd Izzy-Rafa fight even though I was supporting Rafa) & the referee should stop the fight in those circumstances.

I consider the situation Bute was in similar to that Taylor was in just as the ref stopped it against Froch. Bute is an extremely tough guy, if you waited for a guy to go down before stopping a fight, George Chuvalo, Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio & Wayne McCullough would all be dead. Bute showed tremendous heart to get up & Wright's behaviour detracted from what was a tremendous show of heart by both men.