The Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto Fight Was A Disgrace

[Faulks]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/402809-the-foreman-cotto-fight-was-a-disgrace

 

 

Joe Oneill

 

 

What, exactly, is the responsibility of a boxing manager?

 

To train a fighter.

 

To prepare him for his opponent.

 

To protect him.

 

It is that last area where watching the Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight sickened me.

 

Yuri Foreman is not a power puncher. He is a boxer. He uses his legs to avoid danger and swarm around his opponent. Without his legs, he's useless.

 

In the seventh round in his fight against Cotto, Foreman blew out his knee. It was obvious to everyone involved that he was crippled. He couldn't move. He couldn't plant his knee to generate power.

 

The fight should have been stopped in the seventh by Foreman's manager. He should have seen that his fighter was crippled and stopped him from taking a needless beating.

 

In the eighth round, someone from Foreman's corner saw he couldn't continue and threw in the towel.

 

Only to inexplicably have referee Arthur Percante disallow it.

 

What a joke.

 

What a disgrace.

 

Arthur Mercante was continually shouting out advise to Foreman after he was hurt.

 

"Walk it off."

 

"Suck it up."

 

He looked more like a zealous little league parent than a referee.

 

I have no idea how much damage was done to Yuri Foreman's knee by continuing for two rounds. He is having surgery on his right knee, that's all that's known for now.

 

He should have stopped the fight in the seventh rather than continuing to yell to Foreman to continue.

 

Even the HBO announcers, who usually do a professional job, were talking as if Mercante was some kind of saint. They didn't question why the fight was continuing. They exhorted that Mercante was "doing a good job."

 

Foreman showed he was a warrior by wanting to continue, but that's what the great fighters will do. They won't quit, they will continue until they're unconscious or dead. It's up to the referee and their management to protect them.

 

Nothing should be taken away from Miguel Cotto from this fight. He fought a great fight and deserved to be ahead on all the scorecards. I don't think Foreman could have won this fight, by the seventh round he was behind by 4-5 points on all scorecards, he would have needed a knockout to win and he just doesn't have knockout power.

 

Still, Foreman made a lot of fans with this fight. He's active and can obviously take a punch. Undoubtedly, we'll see more of him.

 

But, overall, it was a sad night for boxing. It seemed as if the HBO announcers and the referee were more interested in pleasing the fans at Yankee stadium than protecting a hurt fighter.

[Faulks]

From the bleacher report, LRR fav,

[iamasadlittleboy]

Foreman was asked if he wanted to continue and was the champion. He wasnt taking a massive amount of punishment even with his injury. This is boxing as Ickly Wicky says, not a tickling contest. A trainer is their to keep his eye on his fighter who was the champion he should be given EVERY opportunity to carry on IF he wishes and isn't being beaten beyond belief.

 

MerCante made the right call no matter what the rules dictate we all know rules in our sport mean jack all.

[Wheelchair]

The fight was not a disgrace at all. The writing of that stupid article however, is.

[Skav]

I guess the ref who allowed Danny Williams to continue with a dislocated shoulder against Mark Potter was a disgrace as well.

 

Knee injuries have happened before in boxing and that was a championship fight and the ref, most of the time, gives a champ the benefit of the doubt.

 

Nothing wrong with that, IMO.

[grapevine241]

please... boxing writers are so amateur. foreman-cotto was a great night for boxing all around.

[iamasadlittleboy]

please... boxing writers are so amateur. foreman-cotto was a great night for boxing all around.

 

OI!

Don't paint us all with the same brush!

[Ironman]

I thought it was a good fight and Forman showed his heart by wanting to continue, it didn't need to be stopped.