I don't think the ref could be blamed as he was very clear and the count was slow.
To me it looked like a very lame attempt to pocket the cash and take the easy way out by pretending he mistimed the count. He has even told somebody on FB that he's looking for a rematch.
Realistically I doubt Martin will be out again this year, and I doubt he'll ever be in another fight of significance. Ultimately he lacked heart and it was a cowardly way for a champ in his 20's to give up his title (and I don't use that word lightly when it comes to boxing). It wasn't even as though he was getting beaten up - two flush shots landed and he didn't want to get up. Total non-effort, a pathetic performance.
As for AJ, he did everything right but it's almost impossible to judge the performance given we know no more about the level of opposition than we did beforehand.