The final moments of Kirkland Tapia..

Smogers is an experience referee, he should be grabbing the attacker to indicate that he is stopping the fight.

When you are in a boxing match, it's the job of the referee FIRST AND FOREMOST to protect the fighter. He/she is in the ring and is watching the action first hand and can determine whether or not a fighter has had enough. I don't blame Smoger because of the Dr's advice in the fight. Tapia was checked twice, his pupils dilated and he seemed fine. Most of the shots that Kirkland was landing weren't really hard, most of them... Now towards the end, when Tapia wasn't fighting back, Smoger did the right thing in stepping in. If you look at the replay closely, Kirkland not only hits him when he knows Tapia is tied up, but calls him a b1tch (read his lips) after he hits him. Kirkland is a lowlife, I have seen brutal sparring footage of him against Brian Vera where he's teeing off on Vera, as Vera is already out of his feet and he's trying to literally kill him. While Ann Wolfe and the rest of his team are cheering him on. There was no need for Kirkland to throw that last shot, no fukin way. It was on purpose and it was malicious.

No one is to blame except Tapia's corner. What the hell are you paying your corner for if they aren't going to save you and tell you the truth. We can't say we love smoger cause he lets guys fight back and get back into fights then turn around and say he was wrong for letting Tapia take so much punishment.

I hate to say this as a fan of Kirkland. I have seen people place a lot of blame on the corner of Tapia as well as Smoger. The thing is each time I see the last shot I cant help but feel Kirkland threw that last shot well aware that the fight was over. Smoger jumped in and made contact with him and he may have been is beast mode but there was a a bit of a delay before he threw that last punch. I think part of the reason Tapia was so hurt by the punch was because like Kirkland he knew the fight was over and relaxed making him more vulnerable to be hurt by that vicious shot. I don't expect this to be a popular observation but but as a fan of Kirkland I would be lying to myself if I pretend I didn't see what I saw. I just wonder if anyone else has a similar opinion. Yeah, Kirkland meant to throw that last punch and hurt Tapia. Smoger was between the fighters enough for Kirkland to realize the fight was over. AND, if you look at the footage in slow mo, you can clearly see Kirkland mouth a word that begins with a "b" after landing that last shot. Looks like he called Tapia a beatch to me, which is indicative of his bad intentions.

I hate to say this as a fan of Kirkland. I have seen people place a lot of blame on the corner of Tapia as well as Smoger. The thing is each time I see the last shot I cant help but feel Kirkland threw that last shot well aware that the fight was over. Smoger jumped in and made contact with him and he may have been is beast mode but there was a a bit of a delay before he threw that last punch. I think part of the reason Tapia was so hurt by the punch was because like Kirkland he knew the fight was over and relaxed making him more vulnerable to be hurt by that vicious shot. I don't expect this to be a popular observation but but as a fan of Kirkland I would be lying to myself if I pretend I didn't see what I saw. I just wonder if anyone else has a similar opinion. I was pretty disturbed by those last two shots. I don't know whether Kirkland did it intentionally or not maybe he was just in beast mode but I was disturbed by the amount of punches Tapia corner was letting him take. I literally threw my hands up the last two punches kirkland landed. I love seeing a kayo but you do not want to see guys permanently hurt.

I want canelo-kirkland badly.... wish we could have seen that fight. I'm confident canelo would KO that pos. i'd love to see that fight too, but i want james to beat the freckles off ginger

Idk it's tough to say I didn't see the fight. Just watched the stoppage sped up and normal speed tho and it just seems like smoger didn't do his job at least not when he should've. He also seemed scared to jump in there, when Tapia's head first snapped up he should have stopped it but he didn't and instead of jumping in between fighters like he should he just tapped kirklands arm but this is normal for smoger he was the ref for jones lebedev to and he should have stopped that way sooner. As for what people are saying about that last shot kirkland threw he's an animal hbo portrays him as that and his own life shows it so you can't hope for much but in all fairness it looked to me like he was throwing the punch before the ref stepped in, that combined with smoger ****ing up you can't really blame the guy the same kinda thing happened in Mosley Margo just nobody cared. But for those who think Kirkland threw that punch on purpose to hurt the guy I can understand that too.

Ive seen some kirkland sparring sessions on youtube in anne wolfs small ass homemade wooden ring and kirkland is a madman. If I recall correctly there was one session and anne is screaming for kirkland to stop, the closest comparison I can think of is an owner that cant control an aggressive dog. Kirkland trains violent and fights violent. Yea I think I saw a session a few years ago of Kirkland being pulled off a battered sparing partner. Its dangerous in the ring as is. One of the thing I love about the sport is guys go for the kill within the parameters of the rules. When its over they are gracious and wish each other well. Its just as important to be a good winner as it is to be a good loser. Having been to Anne Wolfe's gym a few times, I'll say they spar VERY hard. Imo, it's actually too hard. I believe she is spot on with her intense cardio training, but going full out every sparring session is counter-productive. It will shorten your career and slow your reflexes just as brutal shots in fights will.

When I saw it I immediately thought that Kirkland was going to get Dq'd. Smoger should have done more to protect a defenseless fighter. I am just thankful that Tapia is okay.

Smoger could have done more to stop it but like Tapia he relaxed a bit because it seemed obvious that the point was made that the fight was over. I would even say the only reason he loaded up on that last punch is because he saw the chance when the fight was stopped. Prior to that moment the punches Kirkland threw had nowhere near as much steam on them.

I was thinking much the same thing as op. But I blame smoger's tentative stoppage the most. If you too old to get physical as a ref to stop a fight then it's time to retire

I hate to say this as a fan of Kirkland. I have seen people place a lot of blame on the corner of Tapia as well as Smoger. The thing is each time I see the last shot I cant help but feel Kirkland threw that last shot well aware that the fight was over. Smoger jumped in and made contact with him and he may have been is beast mode but there was a a bit of a delay before he threw that last punch. I think part of the reason Tapia was so hurt by the punch was because like Kirkland he knew the fight was over and relaxed making him more vulnerable to be hurt by that vicious shot. I don't expect this to be a popular observation but but as a fan of Kirkland I would be lying to myself if I pretend I didn't see what I saw. I just wonder if anyone else has a similar opinion. saw it too..totally unnecessary..more pissed at smoger..if you're going to stop the fight, put your full force behind it..save the man's life..

The bad thing is Tapia was already taking so much punishment. The good thing is we dont have to hear Tapia or his corner complaining about an esrly stoppage because that last shot put him out. Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android LMAO, I almost spat out my beer when I watched this. http://img.ifcdn.com/images/6ace26e8cb21bb1089420a30ebe16503b795f5d45b4ae03138a041c98e9d1e47_1.gif

No I'm a Kirkland fan bro. The difference between being a fan and a fanboy is admitting when a fighter you like does something suspect or wrong. Being a fan does not mean I have to imagine the guy does no wrong. He loaded up when he knew the fight was over. Wasnt the right thing to do. Life goes on. I dont believe Kirkland did anything wrong here honestly its not like he punched tapia while he was down. but yea i agree tapia took a lot of unnecessary punishment, i just think it was his corners fault for not stopping it

honestly every shot after the 4th round was unecessary Touche.........

sounds alot like OP wants to crucify Kirkland. Why didnt tapia take a knee? or quit? he had hella opportunities to quit. Tapia is still acting hella hard on instagram saying he can kick 50s ass lol. yea maybe he can but he can take heat No I'm a Kirkland fan bro. The difference between being a fan and a fanboy is admitting when a fighter you like does something suspect or wrong. Being a fan does not mean I have to imagine the guy does no wrong. He loaded up when he knew the fight was over. Wasnt the right thing to do. Life goes on.

we know that, but op's point is, kirkland knew the fight was stopped, and he landed those last 2 shots anyways. If you watch that fight, how can your argue that? And what do you mean "half assed" attempt to stop the fight? Smoger's back was directly in front of kirkland's view. That's a clear stoppage. Smoger's job is to protect the fighter. Not to hold onto the other fighter that's punching. He did that by shielding him, and waving the fight off. Kirkland snuck in a shot, then landed the last shot that wasn't even necessary. bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sounds alot like OP wants to crucify Kirkland. Why didnt tapia take a knee? or quit? he had hella opportunities to quit. Tapia is still acting hella hard on instagram saying he can kick 50s ass lol. yea maybe he can but he can take heat I said this in the other thread. If you wanna keep it for real, for real. Tapia was doing just enough, and trying just hard enough for the ref to keep giving him chances.

I understand this, and I agree, the corner shouldn't have let him fight on. But to OP's point. Kirkland was the one to throw and land that punch. How do you not blame him? That makes no sense. I'm not even being sensitive, and calling Kirkland a dirty mother ****er. I think what he did was a ***** move, but I'm not gonna hold it against him. I'm still gonna watch his fights, and root for him, because he's a monster. And I just re watched the stoppage. Smoger did exactly what you're supposed to do. He got in between both men, and held his arm out to stop Kirkland from throwing and to signal that the fight was over. The last shot that Kirkland threw was totally unnecessary. honestly every shot after the 4th round was unecessary

sounds alot like OP wants to crucify Kirkland. Why didnt tapia take a knee? or quit? he had hella opportunities to quit. Tapia is still acting hella hard on instagram saying he can kick 50s ass lol. yea maybe he can but he can take heat