Is It Time To Bring Back STANDING COUNTS To Reduce Early Stoppages?

[Barcham]

i think an easy way to judge the situation is the position of the fighter's gloves. if they are still up and he's taking hard, unanswered blows, then a standing 8 could be beneficial (kovalev-pascal); if his hands drop after a hard, unanswered blow but he stays on his feet, then stop the fight (froch-bute).

Pascal's hands dropped after the first right hand in the corner and did not come back up. If the ref had not stepped in, Kovalev would have unleashed any number of punches that would have landed cleanly. But even in that instance, I think a standing 8 would have been beneficial and might have allowed Pascal to make the end of the round. It is very possible that his corner or the doctor may well have stopped the fight in the corner.

[big_james10]

Referees need the option to issue a standing eight count. Right now the only option they have is to stop a fight if they think a fighter is in trouble - why not bring in the standing count so referees can pause the action, check integrity of the fighter before deciding to stop it. This would reduce controversial early stoppages and possibly make for more fight drama while still protecting the fighter and giving the fighter more opportunity to protect his own career.

This idea actually makes sense for all the reasons that you mentioned. I am shocked that it came from the NSB message board.

[H-Tok]

i think an easy way to judge the situation is the position of the fighter's gloves. if they are still up and he's taking hard, unanswered blows, then a standing 8 could be beneficial (kovalev-pascal); if his hands drop after a hard, unanswered blow but he stays on his feet, then stop the fight (froch-bute).

that's actually a great idea

[Left Hook Tua]

definitely.

give hin the 8 count and assess their health during.

[Ringlife]

I would like to see more refs doing the standing eight count. I mean I don't want all refs to be like the guy the referee the Foreman vs Cotto fight or anything, Foreman's knee was gone and the ref should have stopped that fight sooner than later. There have been some terrible stoppages lately.

[Rockin']

If a man is in trouble enough to where the ref has to jump in to save him than 8 seconds is not going to help much. The 8 count allows the hurt fighter to continue on to sustain more damage when already in a debilitated state.

The 8 count was done away with for the safety of the fighters, sorry it does not fulfill your blood thirsty need to see a man get seriously hurt.

If the fighter can no longer protect himself, and the ref has to jump in to save him, than it is over.

No 8 counts is good.

[FlatLine]

If a man is in trouble enough to where the ref has to jump in to save him than 8 seconds is not going to help much. The 8 count allows the hurt fighter to continue on to sustain more damage when already in a debilitated state.

The 8 count was done away with for the safety of the fighters, sorry it does not fulfill your blood thirsty need to see a man get seriously hurt.

If the fighter can no longer protect himself, and the ref has to jump in to save him, than it is over.

No 8 counts is good.

The point of the count as I envision it is to determine if the man is really hurt or not. At the moment the only option a ref has is to stop a fight if he thinks the fighter is hurt. With the standing count it gives the referee an opportunity to examine the fighter closer before deciding to stop it.. it's basically a pause in action to determine if it's right to stop the fight, rather than making a hasty decision - 1 or 2 standing counts max should be allowed in any one fight. if ref uses up his standing counts then the only option left is stoppage.

[Rockin']

The point of the count as I envision it is to determine if the man is really hurt or not. At the moment the only option a ref has is to stop a fight if he thinks the fighter is hurt. With the standing count it gives the referee an opportunity to examine the fighter closer before deciding to stop it.. it's basically a pause in action to determine if it's right to stop the fight, rather than making a hasty decision - 1 or 2 standing counts max should be allowed in any one fight. if ref uses up his standing counts then the only option left is stoppage.

what people do not realize is that this sport is not a game, there are definite consequences.

if a guy is hurt enough for the ref to have to jump in to save him than the fight should end right there.

I would imagine that with no 8 counts that if a fighter is hurt and wants to keep fighting than he'd better get throwing his fists instead of laying on the ropes just excepting punishment.

the purpose of no standing 8 count is the safety of the fighters.