Rolando Romero's finish of Ismael Barroso is being called the 'worst stoppage in boxing history' by fans following the referee's controversial intervention.
Romero secured a big win as he earned a ninth round victory over Barroso in the main-event of last night's Showtime card in Las Vegas.
But his victory came in extremely controversial fashion after Tony Weeks' inexplicable decision to halt the contest.
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Romero, who was dropped in the third round, landed a finishing sequence two minutes into the ninth round as Weeks deemed Barroso in no position to continue.
He connected a punch on his opponent, but failed to land anything else as the 40-year-old was throwing his own shots.
Amid the wild exchange, the veteran boxing referee stopped the bout to the dismay of the commentators and fight fans online.
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They slammed the stoppage as one of the worst in the sport's history.
One Twitter user wrote: "Worst referee stoppage I’ve seen in a long time. The referee gifted that to Romero, who was down on the scorecards - his knockdown was more of a shove - and stoppage after nothing landed. Barroso was tired at worst."
A second tweeted: "Tony Weeks with the worst stoppage I've ever seen in boxing. Unreal. Tired of this stupid sh*t."
A third added: "Ismael Barroso deserved better. He was busting Rolly Romero's ass and was VERY MUCH attentive at the time of the stoppage. Arguably worst stoppage in boxing this year."
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A fourth said: "Barroso got my respect more than Romero in this fight. One of the worst stoppage in boxing history, smh."
Another slammed: "This just might have been the worst stoppage that I have ever witnessed. Barroso was on his feet, alert, and ready to continue. Romero was already gifted a shove down and clearly losing on the scorecards. Tony Weeks should be fired."
Romero himself even thought Barroso should have been allowed to fight on. Speaking to Jim Gray in the ring, he said: I’ll be honest. He’s a warrior and he should have been allowed to continue."
Barroso, naturally, wasn't happy, calling the stoppage 'an injustice' as he made his feelings known after the showdown.
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"I am fine. I think it was an injustice to stop the fight. I was landing the better shots," he said.
"The referee just stopped the fight and he didn’t say anything. You can see it clearly. I’m the one who’s hitting him.
There was nothing clear that he hit me with. I don’t understand why they stopped the fight.
"It was a push on the [ninth-round] knockdown. It wasn’t a big blow or anything."
Topics: Boxing, Fan Reactions
Nasir Jabbar