Fair or ‘dirty’? Fighter knocked out with vicious Sucker-punch KO
Venezuelan Boxer Cristian Baez paid a heavy price for failing to remember one of the most important rules in boxing: “protect yourself at all times”.
Ruben “Ace” Torres (19-0, 16 KOs) defeated Cristian Baez (18-2, 17 KOs) a split second after the pair touched gloves during the seventh round in their scheduled 10-round lightweight main event in Corona, California.
Both fighters were dropped during the first half of the second round. A short left hook dropped Baez to the canvas. In round seven, Torres scored a short left hook dropped Baez to the canvas. When Baez got up after being given the all-clear to continue from the referee, Baez made the mistake of trying to touch gloves with his opponent and was blasted with a vicious left hook to the head by Torres.
Baez was brutally knocked out, 1:53 mark of round seven, leaving commentators in shock and fans debating the legitimacy of the finish.
The referee Thomas Taylor declared Torres’ knockdown to be legal, and the fighter was unapologetic in the aftermath.
