Comments Thread For: NJ Changes How Referees Assess Hurt Fighters After Knockdowns

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Larry Hazzard has seen entirely too many boxing matches that should've been stopped sooner, including some bouts in his home state of New Jersey. That's what prompted Hazzard, New Jersey's longtime boxing commissioner, to instruct his state's referees to take an additional measure during fights to determine whether fighters who've been knocked down should continue. In a memo Hazzard sent Tuesday to every referee licensed by New Jersey's State Athletic Control Board, Hazzard directed them to ask fighters to take "a few steps to the left or right" after knockdowns to better assess balance and whether a fighter should continue.
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[about.thousands]

Good first step by Hazzard. The state commissions need to be more proactive in protecting the fighters. The next step needs to be tackling the weight issues. But when one state makes a ruling the promoter will just go to a state with more lenient rules. Boxing needs a universal set of rules. It's ridiculous how fractured the rules are. Can you imagine there being one set of rules for a basketball game played in Texas and then another set of rules when that team travels to California?

[nycsmooth]

A boxer needs 2 b asked an off the wall questions, other than a yes answer...IMO more important is in champ bouts advantages 1 had over another after weighin...say no more than 7%, that's 11 pounds @160...more effect on lower wts...

[PittyPat]

A boxer needs 2 b asked an off the wall questions, other than a yes answer

I'm not sure about off-the-wall questions, because that might just confuse anyone in the heat of a fight. Maybe something like "What state/building are you in?" I've seen the ringside docs ask that after a KO.