Abysmal officiating

seanshortfusehughes · Post by **seanshortfusehughes** » 25 Nov 2006, 08:55

I Honestly thought it was a stinker of a decision, i was hit with a more flush shot in the 3rd round than the one that stopped the fight, but what can you do when you go to box on another guys promotion? its like mick said to me after just grin and bear it and move on, hoppefully itll open more doors and opportunitys for me. i was pleased with my performance i was in shape and sharp so i can take a lot of positives out of the fight.

seanshortfusehughes · Post by **seanshortfusehughes** » 25 Nov 2006, 08:56

I Honestly thought it was a stinker of a decision, i was hit with a more flush shot in the 3rd round than the one that stopped the fight, but what can you do when you go to box on another guys promotion? its like mick said to me after just grin and bear it and move on, hoppefully itll open more doors and opportunitys for me. i was pleased with my performance i was in shape and sharp so i can take a lot of positives out of the fight.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:00

Well I think most people consider you the 'winner' in all ways except the offical verdict so it wont have done you much harm really...

Priff · Post by **Priff** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:05

I agree the stopage was a bit premature, but I can understand why.
When Corcoran was getting punished, he had his hands up and was trying to defend himself (albiet very ineffectively just like most of the fight). At no point was he one punch away from a disaster.

When hughes got tagged with that right, he slumped, head down, arms down. He looked out on his feet. I'd hate to think what would have happened had he got chinned again at that point. I think the Ref decided at that point to jump in.

Hughes actually recovered surprisingly well and got his hands up and head / upper body moving again....but I think the Ref had made up his mind by then.

Worst stoppage ever? No way. The worst stoppages are those that don't get stopped in time.

seanshortfusehughes · Post by **seanshortfusehughes** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:10

you must have gone to put the kettle on during round 7 then

Chesney_Chambers · Post by **Chesney_Chambers** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:11

seanshortfusehughes wrote:I Honestly thought it was a stinker of a decision, i was hit with a more flush shot in the 3rd round than the one that stopped the fight, but what can you do when you go to box on another guys promotion? its like mick said to me after just grin and bear it and move on, hoppefully itll open more doors and opportunitys for me. i was pleased with my performance i was in shape and sharp so i can take a lot of positives out of the fight.

It was a shocking stoppage and the refs scorecard was no better. Johnny Nelson reckoned you landed over 30 unanswered punches in the previous round.

As Mick said you've just got to grin and bear it, because how often do the BBBC ever back a complaint put to them, but they shouldn't need a complaint from your camp to look into that stoppage......it was nothing short of corrupt (not a word I've used before on a boxing forum) and the ref should be suspended.

The moral victory was yours and it least it was shown on TV, so the fans got to see who the real winner was.

You put on an excellent performance in a barnstormer of a fight and as you say hopefully the exposure will open more doors for you.

Good Luck for the future Sean

Chesney_Chambers · Post by **Chesney_Chambers** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:12

Priff wrote:I agree the stopage was a bit premature, but I can understand why.
When Corcoran was getting punished, he had his hands up and was trying to defend himself (albiet very ineffectively just like most of the fight). At no point was he one punch away from a disaster.

When hughes got tagged with that right, he slumped, head down, arms down. He looked out on his feet. I'd hate to think what would have happened had he got chinned again at that point. I think the Ref decided at that point to jump in.

Hughes actually recovered surprisingly well and got his hands up and head / upper body moving again....but I think the Ref had made up his mind by then.

Worst stoppage ever? No way. The worst stoppages are those that don't get stopped in time.

I think we've found the ref

Phenomenal-Nutrition · Post by **Phenomenal-Nutrition** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:16

I think your all been very unfair unfair to the ref, its his job to protect the fighters, if he lets a fight go on and 1 of them gets comatosed its his fault. The lad took 3 big rights 1 of them rocked him back and looked identicle to the Castillo-Corrales 1 stoppage the way his head went back.

Yes in retrospect it was a premature stoppage but if the ref thinks a fighters looking seriously out of it then its his job to call it off and the way the head went back is what prompted the ref.

Chesney_Chambers · Post by **Chesney_Chambers** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:33

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:I think your all been very unfair unfair to the ref, its his job to protect the fighters, if he lets a fight go on and 1 of them gets comatosed its his fault. The lad took 3 big rights 1 of them rocked him back and looked identicle to the Castillo-Corrales 1 stoppage the way his head went back.

Yes in retrospect it was a premature stoppage but if the ref thinks a fighters looking seriously out of it then its his job to call it off and the way the head went back is what prompted the ref.

Its mainly because of what went on in the previous round that makes the stoppage look so bad, both fighters deserve the same chance

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:35

seanshortfusehughes

Sean, yourself and Billy put up a tremdous fight last night it was a pleasure to watch. I to felt from the comfort of by frontroom that the stoppage was a little premature considering what had happened throughout the fight.

With regards to Billys weight it does look like he may have dropped down a division too far and maybe Featherweight would suit him better. Do you have any thoughts on this matter? Also would you be interested in a rematch with him at 9st? If the money etc was right of course.

One again tremendous fight last night.

seanshortfusehughes · Post by **seanshortfusehughes** » 25 Nov 2006, 09:55

the answer to that question is obviously yes, id never duck anyone.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 25 Nov 2006, 11:14

Aside from the stoppage what bothers me the most about this fight was that Hughes was only one round up on the refs card!... whats the odds that it'd have been a draw had it gone the distance??!.... that in itself is a disgrace.... the ref is either not up to the job or else, you tell me!??... this is the second week running that SKY have shown a fight with a rather odd ending, I got some stick about what I said about the Haye fight last week but these things dont look good for boxing.....

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 25 Nov 2006, 11:22

Sean,

Cheers for responding so soon and your attitude should be respected. Nice to see you looking sharp. When I read about the Riaz Durghaed defeat I thought it might be time for you to contemplate finishing your career - I was begining to doubt if you had the fighting guts, but this showed others.

As you have already tasted defeat before, I think this performance will open more doors than close. I hope the BBBoC takes some sympathy with you when it comes to their announcements of mandatories.

Marc Callaghan and Esham are scheduled to fight... but who knows if Esham wants the fight so soon after the beating he took vs Dunne. Likewise, who knows if Corcoran will want an early 2007 date. Callaghan vs Hughes II would be an acceptable fight for the vacant title.

What would have been happier with Sean, the stoppage loss or actually finishing the fight and only having a draw. The stoppage was bad, but the scoring was worse IMO.

boxbet · Post by **boxbet** » 25 Nov 2006, 12:14

Shocking blatent corruption for the whole country to see. Fixed and biased ref decision to ensure house fighter wins. Hennassy is as much to blame for ensuring the corrupt referee is biased. I cant believe no complaint will be made. Absolute bollocks to the highest degree. Coco looked totally shit.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 25 Nov 2006, 12:39

To compare the stoppage to the castillo stoppage is innacurate for a number of reasons. For one thing, the shot that Castillo took was an absolute monster, and at the point the referee stepped in, Castillo was standingn paralysed on the ropes, his arms by his sides, and his eyes rolling back in his head. One more big shot could have spelled disaster.

In this instance, at the point at which the referee stepped in, Hughes had his gloves up, was protecting himself, and not shipping punishment. Had he stepped in the instant the shot landed, it would have been excusable, as at that point it looked pretty bad, though with hindsight, I don't think Hughes was more than stunned by the shot.

Either the referee cocked up big time and overreacted, or he was simply protecting the house fighter, he certainly seemed to give Cocoran every possible opportunity to take a beating without stopping the fight, when I think many other refs might have stepped in. These things are known to happen when you fight against one of the promoters home fighters, and Hennessy witnessed something similar in the Hunt v Meager fight, where the home fighter, in this case on a sports network card, seemed to get a large benefit of the doubt.

These things seem to happen in this sport sadly.

Manos de Oro · Post by **Manos de Oro** » 25 Nov 2006, 13:51

boxbet wrote:Shocking blatent corruption for the whole country to see. Fixed and biased ref decision to ensure house fighter wins. Hennassy is as much to blame for ensuring the corrupt referee is biased. I cant believe no complaint will be made. Absolute bollocks to the highest degree. Coco looked totally shit.

Yeah, the ref clearly saved the house fighter. I reckon Billy preempted himself as ultra strong at the new weight, because the way he was walking into Sean's (sharp as fook) southpaw artillary showed no respect. I don't think it was sparring since it wasn't as if it was one or two out-the-blue southpaw moves that were repeatedly catching him - virtually EVERYTHING was rocking his head about - from the constant right jab over the top in the 1st, to the 37 punches unanswered near the end. Sean's low KO% and his recent experience being in with juggernaut Johanneson could possibly have given him an inflated sense of his strength. Whatever was up with him - he needs to think long and hard about what went wrong, because afterwards he looked either concussed, hugely dehydrated or - worst of all - punch drunk. I wouldn't even like to see the punches landed stats.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 25 Nov 2006, 14:32

Manos de Oro wrote:
boxbet wrote:Shocking blatent corruption for the whole country to see. Fixed and biased ref decision to ensure house fighter wins. Hennassy is as much to blame for ensuring the corrupt referee is biased. I cant believe no complaint will be made. Absolute bollocks to the highest degree. Coco looked totally shit.
Yeah, the ref clearly saved the house fighter. I reckon Billy preempted himself as ultra strong at the new weight, because the way he was walking into Sean's (sharp as fook) southpaw artillary showed no respect. I don't think it was sparring since it wasn't as if it was one or two out-the-blue southpaw moves that were repeatedly catching him - virtually EVERYTHING was rocking his head about - from the constant right jab over the top in the 1st, to the 37 punches unanswered near the end. Sean's low KO% and his recent experience being in with juggernaut Johanneson could possibly have given him an inflated sense of his strength. Whatever was up with him - he needs to think long and hard about what went wrong, because afterwards he looked either concussed, hugely dehydrated or - worst of all - punch drunk. I wouldn't even like to see the punches landed stats.

I agree he looked/talked shocking after the fight and I hope it was just exhaustion, but really noone wants to take so many punches as Billy does in fights, its just asking for trouble down the line....

caster · Post by **caster** » 25 Nov 2006, 15:08

Awful referring! absolutetly awful!!

glittermonkey · Post by **glittermonkey** » 25 Nov 2006, 15:45

boxbet wrote:Shocking blatent corruption for the whole country to see. Fixed and biased ref decision to ensure house fighter wins. Hennassy is as much to blame for ensuring the corrupt referee is biased. I cant believe no complaint will be made. Absolute bollocks to the highest degree. Coco looked totally shit.

I'm not sure I'd agree to the use of the words 'fixed' and 'corrupt'. The ref certainly looked for the first opportunity to help Corcoran out, but those words are a little too strong I think.

The worst thing about the whole debacle (after watching the fight again today) is how much punishment the referee would have allowed Corcoran to take before stopping the fight in favour of Hughes. If the eighth had panned out like the seventh, would he have let Corcoran go on? From that point of view, the refs performance is all the more shocking.

Did anyone else think that Corcoran looked alarmingly alike to a late career Michael Gomez last night. Same style, same body shape, and the same vulnerability to seemingly every shot he took. Worrying.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 25 Nov 2006, 16:00

It was his balance which was really shocking, every single shot had him stumbling around the ring, which would indicate being weakened by the weight to me. Whether that's the case or not, a light punching fighter (no offence to Hughes) shouldn't have you falling about like a drunk.

And yes, just how much punishment was the referee willing to let him take, though they weren't big shots, having your head snapped back continually like that is very dangerous, it's precisely that kind of torsion on the neck that causes injuries to the base of the brain and the spinal cord.

I think corruption is too strong a word, but we all know that many referee's seem to favour the house fighter, it's a kind of unwritten rule of boxing that a bit of leeway goes towards the promoters fighters, there's nothing unique about this particular example, except that the circumstances made it appear very blatant. I've seen similar things countless times. Who could forget Mickey Vann allowing Hatton to continue fighting despite bleeding like a stuck pig against Thaxton?

glittermonkey · Post by **glittermonkey** » 25 Nov 2006, 16:14

One other thing that's been buried in all the controversy about the stoppage is Corcoran's preparation, I think only silkov mentions it in passing. Had Corcoran never seen a southpaw before? He just didn't have a clue, I don't think he even moved the right way once in the whole fight.

I like McCracken, but his fighter was just couldn't solve Hughes out at all. It reflects badly on the trainer, whether it's ill preparation or just that the fighter doesn't listen.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 25 Nov 2006, 16:25

I am sure that McCracken would have told him how to fight a southpaw, and surely they put a plan together in training, however Corcoran, as Watt said, was fighting through the red mist from the first knockdown, and as a result was just fighting on instinct.

Les Kendal · Post by **Les Kendal** » 25 Nov 2006, 16:31

I was shocked at this stoppage. The referee gave corcoran every chance to stay in the fight but gave hughes no chance at all. Also, looking at the scorecard, I think that the ref had already decided who was probably going to win this fight from the start. It was just downright terrible refereeing.
I was more worried about corcorans safety throughout entire the fight than hughes in the last round.

glittermonkey · Post by **glittermonkey** » 25 Nov 2006, 16:35

Surely then it's got to be down to Robert to try and get through to Corcoran. His corner work is usually top-notch, so I was surprised that he couldn't, especially as as the fight wore on and Corcoran became increasingly ragged. However, it is just a minor criticism. After all, his fighter did win, and after that showing I doubt that they'll be overly eager to match him against another southpaw.

Max Molyneux · Post by **Max Molyneux** » 25 Nov 2006, 16:44

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I am sure that McCracken would have told him how to fight a southpaw, and surely they put a plan together in training, however Corcoran, as Watt said, was fighting through the red mist from the first knockdown, and as a result was just fighting on instinct.

Cocoran looked similar on the Witter card though. He just seems to be well conditioned and a brawler like Froch except he has his guard high and can't punch to hard and Froch ain't a brawler.