That was a GOOD STOPPAGE!!!

Just watched the fight. Here are my thoughts. Lee started off well, landing some nice left hands, same pattern followed after the first three rounds. As Atlas said, Lee should've put more combinations together, he was relying too much on his left hand and forgot about his right hook. Maybe if he had thrown more combinations, Lee would've gotten Vera out of there, he also didn't jab as much as he should have to set things up. After 3 rounds, Lee started to get tired and Vera started to land his right hands. Lee needs to work on his defense and stamina, he relies of rolling away from the right hand, something he doesn't seem like he's fast enough to do, especially when he started getting tired, he has to keep his hands higher too. About the stoppage, I thought the referee should've stopped it 20 seconds earlier when Lee staggered back from a right hand. Lee had just landed his best left hand of the round right before the referee stopped the fight, I felt if the referee hadn't the stopped the fight earlier, he shouldn't have stopped it then. In closing, I think Lee has work to do in the gym, he has good physical tools. He needs to work on his jab, combinations and stamina, but the most important thing is his defense, which has too many cracks in it.

“He drew me into a fight,’’ Lee (12-1) admitted before leaving for a local hospital for stitches and a CAT scan. “It was my own fault. I didn’t listen to (trainer) Emanuel (Steward). “He’s a tough guy. He was strong. I thought I could continue but it’s the referee’s decision. He hit me too much.’’ Vera did that in large part because Lee allowed it to happen. He refused to use his jab to keep Vera at a distance and despite winning four of the first five rounds on all three judges cards he slowly began to lose control of the night because he lost control of himself. “He wanted to fight him too much,’’ a disappointed Steward said. “He stayed on the inside too much, trying to fight him and he got tagged. It happens. It happened to Billy Conn, too. We’re already trying to set up a rematch in July. Andy just made a mistake. He let Vera turn it into a brawl.’’

I have to watch this fight, missed the damned thing. I knew Lee got hit too much.

i dont not like Lee, i think he's exciting, i just thought all along that he was overhyped and Stewards statements about him beating Pavlik were pretty frustrating. But like i said right above, i agree with what all you guys are saying and stuff, but it was Justified IMO. If you'll watch again about 10-15 seconds before the stoppage Lee trys to go back to boxing and while he is stepping backwards his legs buckle on their own. Thats when things get dangerous in there. Could the ref have let the fight go on for a few more seconds and see what happened??? Yea, but would have been worth it? thats the question u gotta ask urself. It might have been a big mistake to let Lee eat 1 or 2 more big shots. I personally would have stopped the fight as soon as Lee tried to box and his leg buckled. The last fighter that I saw that happen too was Victor Burgos against Vic Darchinyan, and he ended up in a Coma.

Practically out on your feet isn't out on your feet. The referee could have stopped it earlier in the round; no problem. He could have stopped it if Lee's rally failed- but at the moment the fight was stopped Andy Lee was throwing a punch. You don't stop a fight while a fighter is fighting back.

C'mon guys, Lee was practically out on his feet. He was throwing back, but he was gone. You dont recover from a round like that, where u take a beating for 2 minutes. And there was still about 45 seconds left, he was wobbly, he was gonna get hurt. u have to stop that fight. Wasn't a pleasing stoppage because he did throw back, but he was out of it. Lee has a ton of heart though. Vera too. And they put on a hell of a show. A freakin war, that was a terrific fight, reminded me a lot of Bika-Codrington. And, i would like to point out (and u can go back to one of the first LEE-VERA on ESPN2 threads to confirm this) that i predicted this upset here tonight :D so if one of you guys wants to send over some kind of medal or something...Word... The guy was seriously out on his feet, it shouldn't even be in dispute.

I agree that Vera was on his way to a stoppage, he was simply too tough but it's just wrong to stop a fight when the fighter has just landed a punch. I consider punching back defending yourself, that's what boxers like Gatti used to do. Like Njord777 said, the referee should've stopped the fight when Lee was on the ropes taking a beating for a minute or two or after he had landed that little flurry of punches (if Vera had gone right back to work) but not during it. It left a bad taste in our mouth thats for sure.

one loss is nothing. david haye has 1 and look how big he's getting. lee will just get better, and hopefully he'll learn from his loss. This loss means absolutely nothing, i agree. Especially when he showed he could dominate Vera when he stuck to the gameplan. Just got dragged into the wrong fight

I think Pavlik was hurt then stayed in the trenches and kept throwing punches the whole way thru, plus he wasn't out on his feet like Lee was. Sure people are going to say Andy had just thrown two combinations but before that he went about a minute without a punch thrown. I actually felt something special could happen when he started to throw but I guess it was too little to late, the last combo didn't even land clean and Vera was laughing at those punches. I agree that Vera was on his way to a stoppage, he was simply too tough but it's just wrong to stop a fight when the fighter has just landed a punch. I consider punching back defending yourself, that's what boxers like Gatti used to do. Like Njord777 said, the referee should've stopped the fight when Lee was on the ropes taking a beating for a minute or two or after he had landed that little flurry of punches (if Vera had gone right back to work) but not during it.

one loss is nothing. david haye has 1 and look how big he's getting. lee will just get better, and hopefully he'll learn from his loss.

if anyones seen feliciano-delvin rodriguez this was a replica of that fight with rodriguez dominating every round till feliciano came on and stopped him

On that basis they should've stopped the first Pavlik vs Taylor fight in the 2nd round. That was NOT a good stoppage even though Lee could've been put out in the next 5 seconds. Lee was up on the cards, still on his feet, throwing punches back. He did seem like he was out on his feet but he landed a punch, flush on Vera's chin. I guess I have a more 'old school' mentality regarding referee stoppages but I don't think the referee did a good job even if Lee and Steward said they are OK with it. It's just not right to stop it like that. I think Pavlik was hurt then stayed in the trenches and kept throwing punches the whole way thru, plus he wasn't out on his feet like Lee was. Sure people are going to say Andy had just thrown two combinations but before that he went about a minute without a punch thrown. I actually felt something special could happen when he started to throw but I guess it was too little to late, the last combo didn't even land clean and Vera was laughing at those punches.

That is a horrible comparison. Pavlik was actively blocking punches when he got up. Pavlik was not out on his feet, he was simply on wobbly legs. Lee was OUT on his feet. He looked like Tommy Hearns in the 14th round against Leonard. yeaaaaaa! it looked a lot like that. That must have been a fuckin nightmare for Emanuel Steward! lol. He always says in interviews that he HATES thinking/talking/watching that 14th round.

i dont think anybody would have complained if they stopped Pavlik-Taylor 1 after that clubbing shot. But this is much different. Pavlik was down in round 2 after a very competitive round 1. Lee was just in a war for 6 rounds, and took an absolute thrashing for 2 full minutes. He was gone. I agree with you to some extent though, and i agree with the guy above who said it wasnt a good stoppage, but a JUSTIFIED stoppage. I agree with that. i think it was Devious who said that It was an action fight,but Lee wasnt in a war,he was actually winning every round,at at 1 point reminded me of Cintron-Feliciano,where Vera was just taking huge shot after huge shot and walking thru them,it wasnt a close fight,i agree,Lee was taking huge punches in the round,but towards the stoppage,it looked like he was getting in better shape then he was two minutes before that

Similar to the guy in yours and my avatar Kelly Pavlik in the first Taylor fight,where he was getting hit with HUGE shots everywhere on his head,went down,got up and got wobbled very badly again,what happened..Pavlik went on to recover the next round,and won the fight,i know u dont like Lee because of the hype,but a blindman could see it was a terrible stoppage for someone who was winning every round,and didnt even touch the canvas,and was throwing back i dont not like Lee, i think he's exciting, i just thought all along that he was overhyped and Stewards statements about him beating Pavlik were pretty frustrating. But like i said right above, i agree with what all you guys are saying and stuff, but it was Justified IMO. If you'll watch again about 10-15 seconds before the stoppage Lee trys to go back to boxing and while he is stepping backwards his legs buckle on their own. Thats when things get dangerous in there. Could the ref have let the fight go on for a few more seconds and see what happened??? Yea, but would have been worth it? thats the question u gotta ask urself. It might have been a big mistake to let Lee eat 1 or 2 more big shots.

See, everyone that is agreeing with the stoppage is taking it by the context of the round. I agree, Lee was getting smacked around. I agree, Vera was probably going to K.O. him. If the referee had stepped in over the course of the round while Andy was getting smacked around; good stoppage. If the referee had let Lee finish his weak little rally when he stopped it, and Vera just came back to stagger him further- that would have been a good stoppage. To pull a fighter who is in the middle of a punch off another man and stop the fight is stupid, though. I'm the first one to look out for a boxer...but that was a bad stoppage.

On that basis they should've stopped the first Pavlik vs Taylor fight in the 2nd round. That was NOT a good stoppage even though Lee could've been put out in the next 5 seconds. Lee was up on the cards, still on his feet, throwing punches back. He did seem like he was out on his feet but he landed a punch, flush on Vera's chin. I guess I have a more 'old school' mentality regarding referee stoppages but I don't think the referee did a good job even if Lee and Steward said they are OK with it. It's just not right to stop it like that. i dont think anybody would have complained if they stopped Pavlik-Taylor 1 after that clubbing shot. But this is much different. Pavlik was down in round 2 after a very competitive round 1. Lee was just in a war for 6 rounds, and took an absolute thrashing for 2 full minutes. He was gone. I agree with you to some extent though, and i agree with the guy above who said it wasnt a good stoppage, but a JUSTIFIED stoppage. I agree with that. i think it was Devious who said that

Iagree with the stoppage, and it will severely lessen the impact of the KO that was most likely happening shortly thereafter, and lee will be back to fight another day unbroken, and scarred by a ko.!

Yeah I remember your prediction Kball. I thought you were out of your mind, but I guess not. I thought the stoppage was questionable for sure, at the same time Lee was taking huge shots and Manny seemed to accept the stoppage so I won't complain. Lee showed good heart, taking huge shots and still standing.

Like I said: No. It wasn't a good stoppage. You can tell when a fighter starts getting smacked around the ring like Lee was that the referee is looking for an excuse to stop it. Vera landed a hard punch but, right as the referee stepped in, Lee was connecting with his own hard shot. You stop a fight when a fighter is no longer able to defend themselves. If Andy Lee was throwing a punch that goes out the window. Ten seconds earlier; good stoppage. Ten seconds later; probably a good stoppage. But in ten seconds a fuck of a lot can happen- Lee could score a miracle K.O. or even get viciously knocked out. Looking out for a fighter is one thing; stopping it at a bad time is another. Sure, I think it would have been stopped eventually but at the time of the stoppage Lee was throwing a punch- so it was a bad stoppage. Saying the fight needed to be stopped is one thing; stopping it while the fighter is fighting back is another. Bad stoppage.