Trainer: "If the Fight Had Been Stopped, Tszyu Would Still Be Champion"

In an interview with ESNEWS, trainer Robert Garcia commented on the fight between former champion Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) and WBC and WBO super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs). The American is convinced that he would have stopped the fight if he were in Tszyu's corner.

"I would have stopped it in the 2nd round. My boxer cannot continue the fight, losing so much blood. It weakens him. The referee and the doctor don't know this. They have to do what the boxer says. But they have to protect him. So, if they had stopped it – the fight would have been considered no contest. Who cares if 10,000 people got angry? They saw a good performance by Pitbull (Isaac Cruz – note), so they were already happy. If the fight had been stopped, Tim Tszyu would still be champion. If such a severe cut happens before the 4th round – a cutman can't help. You have to stop the fight. It was a severe cut they couldn't stop. We'll see if Tszyu decides to stay with his coach and cutman after the fiasco last weekend. He seems loyal, so he might decide to keep them. If Tszyu gets a similar cut in the future, his corner should stop the fight, not leave him there bleeding out the arena. It's not that Tszyu's team has a bad cutman. They simply had to stop the fight, and Tim would have gone home a champion. Now he's lost, and he has to start all over. Now his purse will likely decrease. His corner should have stopped the fight because boxers always want to fight," Garcia said.

On the night of March 31st, during the fight between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora, by the second round, both boxers were bleeding: Sebastian had blood coming from his nose and mouth, while Tim sustained a cut from bumping into his opponent's elbow.

The fight lasted all 12 rounds and ended with Fundora's victory by split decision.