Howard Foster you utter f**kin clown

[jonp]

Just got back an absolute joke.
This has realy rocked my belief in boxing to the core.

I didnt think it could get worse after what they did to terry carruthers a few weeks ago.

Im sick of big promoters guys being allowed to nearly get killed before the ref stops it(ie khan prescott.sam webb last week)
But the away guy has a guy down ,bleeding badly from the nose and badley rocked tow or three times in the space of two minutes gets a good shot puts his hands up and is miraculously rescued.
I am a big fan of Howard but this realy was a poor stoppage and this veiw was reinforced by the commentators and a lot of people ringside.
Max is thinking of retiring now and if not in his own words he sed hes just gonna earn good money and let the good guys beat him on points.I dont blame him and realy whats the use of training hard and trying us smaller guys may as well just take the example set by nobby nobbs and collect the pay checks and not even make an effort.

Have had numerous texts and phone calls from people just sick of professional boxing.
They have asked me the same thing why is it always the away guy who gets a dodgy stoppage or bad decision?
If its truley unbiased or just slightly early stoppages why are they almost always in the one direction?

A very disapointed boxing fan wo is at a real low with a sport that only caters to the guys with money

[gobbles]

i agree with that crusader but dilks didnt look too upset

Even if Dilks didn't look too upset I don't think that made it a good stoppage. I think a fighter's reaction should only be looked at to a minor extent. We don't usually conclude that a stoppage or decision was poor simply because the fighter on the losing end complained about, and I don't think it should be any different in the converse case where there is no reaction from the fighter.

Dilks was not badly hurt, he was defending himself, and he was not continually taking massive shots that were snapping his head back. It was also just the first round and Dilks had not sustained a long beating prior to the stoppage. It was truly a very bad call in my view.

why do believe you need to be "badly hurt" for a guy to get stopped? why do they have to take "massive shots snapping the neck back"?

Glad you're not a ref, there would be a lot of seriously damaged boxers out there.

[brian13]

We can sit here and whine as much as we want about refs. The fact is that Foster is one of the best refs in the UK at this present time. He rarely does a bad job. Everyone isn't perfect but safety has to come first in boxing. If he felt that the fighter wasn't defending himself then he has to stop the fight to prevent further injury.

[Coco]

The home fighter would never have been stopped in the same scenario

[jonp]

This is exactly my point the home fighter gets almost murdered and is given benifit of doubt ,here the home fighter in trouble as soon as the away fighters gets a good shot ref dives in .
Its happining too much on one side of the card to be a coincdence.

[WelshDevil]

Watched it live on Eurosport and it was unfair.

Doran had a standing count earlier in the round, so why didn't the ref do the same for Maxwell?

Was a cracking 1st round and Doran talked about as the 'new duran' seems a long way off the mark.

[crusader]

i agree with that crusader but dilks didnt look too upset

Even if Dilks didn't look too upset I don't think that made it a good stoppage. I think a fighter's reaction should only be looked at to a minor extent. We don't usually conclude that a stoppage or decision was poor simply because the fighter on the losing end complained about, and I don't think it should be any different in the converse case where there is no reaction from the fighter.

Dilks was not badly hurt, he was defending himself, and he was not continually taking massive shots that were snapping his head back. It was also just the first round and Dilks had not sustained a long beating prior to the stoppage. It was truly a very bad call in my view.

why do believe you need to be "badly hurt" for a guy to get stopped? why do they have to take "massive shots snapping the neck back"?

Glad you're not a ref, there would be a lot of seriously damaged boxers out there.

In my post that you quoted I was addressing only one particular bout, and obviously different factors need to be taken into account for different bouts. In this particular case I would have needed to see those things before I stopped the fight as early as Foster did. Generally, for such an early stoppage to be rendered, I believe that a boxer needs to at least be obviously be hurt or on the receiving end of several unanswered blows of considerable force, such as, but not limited to, the type of blows that would snap their head back.

This was not the case in Degale-Dilks. Dilks was defending himself and was not getting hit continually with flush, hard shots that would do serious damage in such a short time period. He was not showing rubbery legs or glazed eyes, and his body language did not seem to suggest that he was in a bad way aside from the fact that he was clearly the less talented man: he wasn’t turning his back or taking knees to stop Degale from punching him, and he did not look for the referee to step in. The absence of these reactions doesn’t always mean that a boxer is fit to go on, but in this case I saw nothing to suggest that an intervention was necessary. In addition, Dilks had not taken a prolonged beating over several rounds that could have put his health in jeopardy had it gone on any longer. As a result, I thought the stoppage was very premature.

Had Foster taken the same approach as me and let the bout go on would you say that he had no place in boxing as a ref?

[crusader]

Stoppage-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZXzuW6CcE

Doran down--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOaSqjXfjMQ

I couldn't see how Maxwell looked close up (someone mentioned his eyes were rolling?), but based on this footage I think the stoppage came early (although it was more justified than Dilks-Degale).

[Lightsoot]

I'm struggling to see the fuss. I think the stoppage was triggered as Max momentarily sagged and looked 'gone' to me with Doran looking to unleash a series of power shots against a defenceless fighter. Immediately afterwards Max looked ok but at the time Foster made his decision in the fighter's best interests. I think Howard's a very good referee and one of honourable character - I can't say the same of some others.

I don't like to see fights being stopped early but I can understand why Foster jumped in on this occasion. There were 15 seconds left in the round. We'll never know but the way Doran was letting his shots go I think he would have knocked Maxwell clean out as Max's hands were down, he was under heavy fire, and his head was momentarily scrambled.

I'd like to see a rematch though as Doran seemed buzzed everytime Maxell connected.

[terrdilk]

dilks admitted he froze. he had his gloves up & eyes closed turning his head...what else is a ref supposed to do

I didn't have my eyes closed at all I was fully aware of the situation a was in an was defending myself! But I did freeze an never done myself justice! As for not complaining I didn't expect Howard to jump in I was maybe alittle bit shocked either way I do think Howard is a top ref but think he did jump in on me very premature!

[jonp]

As i thought looking closely at the Knockdown doran didnt touch down he was just about to maybe but to stop max punching when the guy hasnt gone down yet and give him a count is amatuer stuff.
I know he fell into the ropes but that was after max had been pushed away to a neutral corner if doran had been left to go down max would have landed more punches. But im afraid it looks to me like the house fighter was given a valuble 8 seconds without actualy hittingthe deck.
If a pro boxer cant be hurt by a punch without getting stopped immeadiatly then i think theres going to be an awful lot of early stoppages in the future.
Have asked for a rematch been told not a chance

[Newport Daz]

Having seen the clip now, the stoppage looked a good one to me. The black guy took a big shot and looked "gone" and then took a couple more big shots after. If you're unable to defend yourself the ref's job is to protect the fighter. At least he can carry on his boxing career. The Dilks stoppage was far worse imo

[tear up]

Howard foster is a world class referee

i agree ref me loads not thye fairest ref s but may b i wanted it my own way as in pullin the back of the head down and hittin so i use to call him a prick for tellin me off but he is a world class ref

[tear up]

Stoppage-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZXzuW6CcE

Doran down--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOaSqjXfjMQ

I couldn't see how Maxwell looked close up (someone mentioned his eyes were rolling?), but based on this footage I think the stoppage came early (although it was more justified than Dilks-Degale).

havin watched it there im not sure if it was a good stoppage he could of let it go from there c how has was coming back off the ropes they were both hurt in my eye s

[Wrists]

I've seen a lot worse to be honest but it was still early.

re-match has to happen

[TheCobra]

This is exactly my point the home fighter gets almost murdered and is given benifit of doubt ,here the home fighter in trouble as soon as the away fighters gets a good shot ref dives in .
Its happining too much on one side of the card to be a coincdence.

This is EXACTLY the point I am making, happened a few times now with Foster and many times with other refs. Total joke imo.

[Jeff Thomas]

I thought foster was two punches early, a split second perhaps! I like foster too, I'm sure he made the decision fairly but it just seemed a second premature given the thrilling nature of the bout and the fact doran was still hurt!

[Dioufy]

It's always the same with home fights, especially on a Warren card. I am petrified of it happen to Groves, but what can ya do. One of the most insane things I have seen in a British ring was Terry O'Connor (shocker) allowing Khan to go on and on against Prescott. If Khan made that second 10 count, then I bet O'Connor would've been tempted to let it go on. But I promise that if Prescott had recieved 20% of the punishment Khan got that night it would've been waved off.

[grannyman]

refs need to have the book thrown at them.

You better not use this excuse when Sarries lose next week!

[ShadrachSimmo]

The stoppage was a joke. Maxwell is tough guy he deserved the chance to continue.

[gasman]

I watched this last night and couldnt believe the stoppage, especially if you look at what Maxwell was doing to Doran everytime he connected with a clean shot. Maxwell came close to stopping Doran in the first minute, but the ref jumped in before he could finish him off to give Doran a standing count. Maxwell buzzed Doran a couple of more times then Doran landed on clean shot right on Maxwell's jaw, followed by a couple of cuffing shots, he covered up and didnt look to be in too much trouble. It was a disgraceful stoppage and the home fighter gets preferential treatment again. But, this will go on and on, it is an industry standard.

[greenyox3]

Ask any ref and he'll say he'd rather stop it too early than too late.

I thought Maxwell's eyes were completely gone and his head rocked back & round like a doll's, so I didn't really blame the ref for stepping in.

[jamesmcdonnell]

It's always the same with home fights, especially on a Warren card. I am petrified of it happen to Groves, but what can ya do. One of the most insane things I have seen in a British ring was Terry O'Connor (shocker) allowing Khan to go on and on against Prescott. If Khan made that second 10 count, then I bet O'Connor would've been tempted to let it go on. But I promise that if Prescott had recieved 20% of the punishment Khan got that night it would've been waved off.

The officiating of Khan v Barrera was pretty suspect too. Even though Barrera's cut never got any worse, the fight was suddenly stopped once it had gone on long enough for it not to be declared a technical draw due to less than four rounds completed.

Very very poor.

[hurlock]

good stoppage imo i counted doran landed 7 shots on maxwell :!: after missing with a left hook he comes back with a righthand which made maxwell spin off balance & the second right hand he buckled & out on his feet with doran using both hands.

foster is there for maxwells safety first & foremost,somebody said two shots early which is ridiculous as he would of been recieving oxygen on the floor.

[Datsue]

I couldn't really complain about that stoppage from the footage given (it seemed if anything one of those "couple punches early" stoppages, rather than one of those "What the flying fvck are you stopping this for?!?!?!?" stoppages, if you see what I mean), but then again I never complain about early stoppages.

What I do find distressing, as has been alluded to above, is the comparative amount of punishment "home" guys are allowed to take compared to the "away" fighter. Whether this is because the ref is actually just being sensitive to the awful level of matchmaking that we get in most fights (& acknowledging the gulf in class which usually exists), I don't know, but it is one of those "wrinkles" which I do have to explain to people who don't know boxing. Who then look at me with an old-fashioned expression & ask if it's rigged.

The Khan fights mentioned are pretty good examples of this. Can you imagine if Maidana was flopping around the ring like a fish, eyes rolling in his head & barely able to stay upright in the middle of the ring? Or if, as James said above, Prescott got decked that hard in the first round? Blazing TKO wins for Amir, I'm sure. & I for one wouldn't bat an eyelid in either case, really.

Shrug. What can you do? I'd complain more bitterly but twenty fights stopped too early is better than one stopped too late, in my opinion. So, on balance, I think all I want to add is that in the interests of fairness (haha!!!), "well-looked after" fighters should have the same protection that refs unofficially extend to the other corner, & I hope to see DeGale stopped on his feet tonight after walking onto an overhand right & taking a quick follow-up flurry on the ropes, none of which lands clean, & is stopped in the process of throwing a hook back at his opponent.

That is all.