Russell stopped the fight before it was over

[kidbazooka1]

When the fighter was out on his feet.

Yea a mistake but that could have very well been a tko stoppage win for Vargas.

Overall shiity situation for both fighters.

[crusader]

I think that worked out well for Vargas. Bradley has been in just as much trouble before with much more than 10 seconds remaining yet never he's never been stopped, and he still seemed to have enough sense to hold and avoid punches. I doubt that Vargas would've scored a stoppage and a KD wouldn't have been enough to win given how far down he was, so at least with the early stoppage he (and others) can look past him being outclassed for much of the bout and talk as if he would've won or at least had a good chance of winning if things were properly handled.

[bogan whisperer]

Speaking after the fight, referee Pat Russell said he stopped the fight prematurely because he heard the 10 seconds remaining warning claps and mistook them to be final bell.

[Ricky_]

Very poor from the ref. Even Vargas must have thought 'wtf' though... the ref waved it off after breaking a clinch.

[kidbazooka1]

Speaking after the fight, referee Pat Russell said he stopped the fight prematurely because he heard the 10 seconds remaining warning claps and mistook them to be final bell.

Yes exactly but since when is it acceptable for a ref (mistake or not) to stop a fight before the rd ends, especially when the other guy was out on his feet.

I mean team vargas can have a strong case here Russell didnt miss calling a low blow or as bogus kd, he freakin stopped the fight before the rd ended. That only occurs when a ref calls a fight off awarding a fighter the win.

Huge fuuck up by Russell.

[caldo2025]

Though it's a huge mistake by Russell, it wouldn't have changed the outcome of the fight. Russell called the fight off with 7 seconds to go while the guys were in the clinch so Vargas would have had even less time to get it done. Bradley wasn't going anywhere, that's for sure. If worst came to worst, he would have taken a knee and still won the fight just like Bradley did against Provodnikov.

I'm glad that the judges got this one right. Unfortunately, Tim Bradley wins another fight and has to deal with controversy. He fought a great fight last night and just let one through the guard. Reminded me of the Sergio Martinez vs Chavez Jr. Might be a sign that TB is slowing down and should consider retirement.

[CheckHook]

Personally I'm against guys of this age refereeing fights. I think there are too many guys the wrong side of 60 who don't always look at the peak of physical condition stepping in the ring to officiate over young, strong fighters risking their lives. Maybe I'm ageist and I'm sure plenty of those older refs we see every week officiating over big fights are the best the sport has to offer, but I'd much rather see people who are closer to their physical prime looking after fighters in there.

As for the fight Bradley got caught, doubt he was getting stopped but its still a frustrating end. Bradley seems to have the ability to stay on his feet when he should be down too, its a bit uncomfortable watching him take clean shots to be honest, he seems to be one of those guys who can hold himself up when he should be down. I feel like the longer he fights on now the more times we are going to see him out on his feet. Wouldn't mind seeing him call it a day, he's had a solid career.

[KBB]

I do worry about Bradley's health after retirement, he's got a LOT of hard twelve rounders under his belt.

After that fight with Provo Bradley has never looked the same, he is showing some signs of being shopworn, fight was stopped too soon.

I fear for Bradley if he ever faces a big puncher again.

[Prediction...Pain]

Personally I'm against guys of this age refereeing fights. I think there are too many guys the wrong side of 60 who don't always look at the peak of physical condition stepping in the ring to officiate over young, strong fighters risking their lives. Maybe I'm ageist and I'm sure plenty of those older refs we see every week officiating over big fights are the best the sport has to offer, but I'd much rather see people who are closer to their physical prime looking after fighters in there.

As for the fight Bradley got caught, doubt he was getting stopped but its still a frustrating end. Bradley seems to have the ability to stay on his feet when he should be down too, its a bit uncomfortable watching him take clean shots to be honest, he seems to be one of those guys who can hold himself up when he should be down. I feel like the longer he fights on now the more times we are going to see him out on his feet. Wouldn't mind seeing him call it a day, he's had a solid career.

[bogan whisperer]

Speaking after the fight, referee Pat Russell said he stopped the fight prematurely because he heard the 10 seconds remaining warning claps and mistook them to be final bell.

Yes exactly but since when is it acceptable for a ref (mistake or not) to stop a fight before the rd ends, especially when the other guy was out on his feet.

I mean team vargas can have a strong case here Russell didnt miss calling a low blow or as bogus kd, he freakin stopped the fight before the rd ended. That only occurs when a ref calls a fight off awarding a fighter the win.

Huge fuuck up by Russell.

I didn't say it was acceptable. Simply quoted Russell's account of what happened.

[Tanzio]

Personally I'm against guys of this age refereeing fights. I think there are too many guys the wrong side of 60 who don't always look at the peak of physical condition stepping in the ring to officiate over young, strong fighters risking their lives. Maybe I'm ageist and I'm sure plenty of those older refs we see every week officiating over big fights are the best the sport has to offer, but I'd much rather see people who are closer to their physical prime looking after fighters in there.

As for the fight Bradley got caught, doubt he was getting stopped but its still a frustrating end. Bradley seems to have the ability to stay on his feet when he should be down too, its a bit uncomfortable watching him take clean shots to be honest, he seems to be one of those guys who can hold himself up when he should be down. I feel like the longer he fights on now the more times we are going to see him out on his feet. Wouldn't mind seeing him call it a day, he's had a solid career.

At the moment of Russell's mistake, Ramming Speed could have simply taken a knee and survived.

It was a mistake but it did not change the outcome. Vargas was not capable of committing a Planquiao v Tim.

I agree that Bradley should seriously consider retirement but I believe that he is too competitive for that. Tim has been too committed to being fan friendly since Pac 1. Good for us, less than optimum for his grey matter.

[handsofstone]

I do worry about Bradley's health after retirement, he's got a LOT of hard twelve rounders under his belt.

After that fight with Provo Bradley has never looked the same, he is showing some signs of being shopworn, fight was stopped too soon.

I fear for Bradley if he ever faces a big puncher again.

Thats definitely true,next time Bradley goes up against a puncher, you know whatever happens, he's gonna take some heavy shots along the way and i doubt if he'll ever win a big fight again

[keithmoonhangover]

Should be a no contest with and immediate rematch.

[bogan whisperer]

Should be a no contest with and immediate rematch.

Can't see a no contest being awarded. But a rematch would be a fair call.

[Shirow]

As everyone agrees Bradley wasn't getting stopped. After the big right he blocked a couple of shots before clinching so he wasn't going anywhere. You have to feel sorry for everyone. Bradley gets another solid '0' taking win but it's controversial. Vargas who is no KO puncher had Bradley out for a second and will be thinking what if... and Pat Russell who is a decent referee has make a huge fukk up which he will never live down and will get pressure to retire even though it's hard to say whether he would have made the same mistake 20 years ago.

A rematch seems the fairest option but it does remind me a bit of Chavez Jr v Martinez. Did Chavez deserve a rematch? The first 11 rounds were a complete shut out but Martinez was dropped hard twice in the final round. I said no.
Reminds me also of Froch v Groves 1. After a bad start Groves was getting ground down and was probably 2-3 minutes of fighting from being legitimately stopped but the early ref's stoppage gave him a reason to call for the rematch.

[caldo2025]

Personally I'm against guys of this age refereeing fights. I think there are too many guys the wrong side of 60 who don't always look at the peak of physical condition stepping in the ring to officiate over young, strong fighters risking their lives. Maybe I'm ageist and I'm sure plenty of those older refs we see every week officiating over big fights are the best the sport has to offer, but I'd much rather see people who are closer to their physical prime looking after fighters in there.

As for the fight Bradley got caught, doubt he was getting stopped but its still a frustrating end. Bradley seems to have the ability to stay on his feet when he should be down too, its a bit uncomfortable watching him take clean shots to be honest, he seems to be one of those guys who can hold himself up when he should be down. I feel like the longer he fights on now the more times we are going to see him out on his feet. Wouldn't mind seeing him call it a day, he's had a solid career.

[Impractical Poster]

Bradley was not "out on his feet." He was rubbery legged for sure, but he was actively moving, blocking shots, and holding. I'm sure Vargas would have liked that extra 7 seconds to try and get it done, but education determines the probability of him stopping Bradley was slim to none.

However, as mentioned earlier, this outcome worked out much better for Vargas, realistically, than had the ref not made the mistake.

[chucktaylor]

It wasn't a mistake that likely affected the outcome, but still evidence that Russell needs to assess whether he possesses the faculties to be a good ref.
It was probably better for Vargas and worse for Bradley that it ended this way. Vargas wasn't about to get a stoppage, but he has a reason to call for a rematch. If he gets it, he will go into the fight with confidence that he can hurt Bradley and may respond better to the pressure because of it.

[bogan whisperer]

The WBO has ruled against a rematch, and the California State Athletic Commission has decided not to change the results of the fight to a no contest, according to the Review Journal.

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2015/07/bra ... o-rematch/?