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Tony Weeks has no regrets over stopping Canelo-Angulo fight

Tony Weeks is one of the most respected referees in boxing, but has received plenty of criticism for stopping Saturday's Canelo-Angulo bout in round 10.

Kevork Djansezian
Scott Christ is the managing editor of Bad Left Hook and has been covering boxing for SB Nation since 2006.

Referee Tony Weeks has come under some fire for stopping Saturday night's Canelo Alvarez vs Alfredo Angulo main event in Las Vegas, but the respected veteran official says he has no reservations about stopping the fight when he did, and that he's also not upset that Angulo doesn't like the decision, taking it all as part of the job.

"I have absolutely no reservations on what I did last night. Given the past and recent tragedies in boxing, we have an obligation to protect these fighters as best we can. ... From what I saw, from Round 1, starting with the first punch, and throughout the fight until the last punch, Canelo was landing some tremendously hard shots. And let me say this: Angulo is a true champion and a true warrior, and I have no problems in him being angry with me. He has that right, because he's a fighter and he's in there. But I have to absolutely do the job that I was assigned to do. And that's to protect a fighter from himself. Those types of fights are very difficult for a referee, and what I mean is that you have a fight where a guy is taking punishment, but he's fighting back, but there is nothing on his punches."

Angulo (22-4, 18 KO) is still very upset about the stoppage, and fans and media have sort of split on the issue, with some wishing he'd been given a chance to continue on, others feeling Weeks' made a decision that was part of his task as the referee, stopping a one-sided beating where there really was no doubt as to the outcome.

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