Lets settle this.... Do you think Anthony Joshua quit?

[SN!PER]

AJ was stalling. He thought he could get away with that because he did it in the 3rd round. The ref told him to walk forward in the 3rd and he didn't respond. In the 7th he was trying to buy time again. That said... he knew the risk. He knew the fight might be called off. He was mentally defeated to the point that he was willing to risk a loss to catch a breather.

100% agree with this. AJ is used to being in control and having things go his way. He was in a bad state and needed more time to recover, and was hoping the ref would give him that. Spitting the mouthpiece, looking over at the ring doctor, hoping that they would call a timeout so he could get his feet back under him. The only game plan he had at that point was to stall, survive, and try to land something big in round 8.

[kafkod]

No. He said he wanted to continue when the ref asked him. And if anyone blames him for not putting his hands up and 'showing' more that he was ready to fight that is just ******. Joshua was highly likely concussed and out of it, that's why he didn't do all that stuff. The ref should have asked him 'are you sure?' or something like that. Calling this quitting is just hating

He would have got the same answer, so i don't think there would have been any point asking him again. AJ said he wanted to continue, so then the ref had to decide if he was able to continue. He decided he wasn't, and that was that.

[kafkod]

100% agree with this. AJ is used to being in control and having things go his way. He was in a bad state and needed more time to recover, and was hoping the ref would give him that. Spitting the mouthpiece, looking over at the ring doctor, hoping that they would call a timeout so he could get his feet back under him. The only game plan he had at that point was to stall, survive, and try to land something big in round 8.

He was looking at his corner team, not the doctor.

After the ringside doctor called a time out when Wilder was on ***** street against Ortiz, I read here that the doctors always do that in NY if a fighter is out on his feet, obviously not though.

[FinitoxDinamita]

Naw he didnt quit. He was out on his feet holding himself on the ropes.

I bet you guys who are calling him a quitter never boxed before lol fkin couch potatoes.

[HarvardBlue]

I don't think he quit but he had no idea what to do after the 4th KD. I'm sure he was seriously doubting himself by then. I'm sure he was embarrassed to be losing badly in his US debut. He probably had so much going through his mind he couldn't physically do what he wanted to do, even though he wanted to continue.

I don't know how he would've been able to continue if the ref didn't stop it. He probably would've suffered a brutal KO if it went on.

The ref probably did him a favor. This was actually the best outcome given the circumstances.

[QueensburyRules]

He was out on his feet, physically unable to continue.

That is not quitting.

- -This exactly. Good call by the ref.

[Money Shot]

I agree he was buying time, did it against Wlad and got away with it but he was more badly hurt here. There is also.a decent case he quit.

[Motofan]

The ref practically begged him to keep fighting and he just stood there leaning against the ropes for around twenty seconds waiting for the fight to be stopped. Looking more tired than hurt. He absolutely quit.

[DARTH SILKWORMS]

He didn't verbally quit thats simply a fact obviously.

So it all depends on how you view his actions if you think he quit. For me I see the argument he quit by his inaction, but I also think he coulda just been too out of it to respond correctly with his actions like he wanted to continue.

For that reason I see it as inconclusive, but if I had to side with a yea or no I'd have to say I don't think Joshua quit cuz he didn't verbally quit & the mfer didn't really even get dropped that last time. He pretty much took a knee/was too tired/beaten. So it seems more reasonable to me he was just out of it then he decided to quit.

That said there are too many f#cking weirdos on their couch talking about professional fighters with their lives on the line quitting or not quitting like its meaningful. Joshua had lost the fight regardless if he quit or not. There is nothing to be gained by continuing fighting in many situations except the respect of some weirdo on their couch who's never been in more than 3 fights in their life probably or has been in too many fights & probably missing too many brain cells themselves.

How often do fighters verbally quit? Seems pretty rare. Very difficult to save face if you verbally quit. It's usually up to the ref or the corner to step in without forcing the fighter to literally say "i quit."

Whether it's a fighter purposely standing up right at 10 so they can pretend to be disappointed when the fight is waved off, or turning their back on the ref and walking away when asked to continue, there are signals that are understood between fighters and refs that allow fighters to quit without having to say the words.

[-Kev-]

He was so smart with his quit, that it’s a debate among fans on whether he quit or not.

That’s how you quit, let the ref or your corner do it for you.

And you know what, the ref did a great job. It was NYC, where Perez vs Magomed happened, so all officials will always be on their toes to avoid another lawsuit. The ref acted responsibly there. Had the fight continued and Joshua suffered a major brain injury, that would have been the instance to look at on where the fight should’ve been stopped. So the ref actually stopped it at perfect timing. Joshua took a beating but is perfectly healthy and his brain, as far as we know, is still intact and he will live to rematch Ruiz and probably win.