Referee Mark Lyson has been widely praised for stopping the Terri Harper vs Alycia Baumgardner fight midway through the fourth round.Yorkshire-born Harper suffered a scary knockout against her American opponent and lost her WBC super-featherweight title in the process.Baumgardner hurt Harper in the second round and then caught the 25-year-old with a vicious right hand in the fourth.Harper’s whole body stiffened as a result of the shot and Baumgardner, sensing her opportunity to finish the fight there and then, ran in to deliver a knockout blow with her left hand.However, Lyson could see that Harper was left frozen and completely out on her feet.The referee displayed incredibly quick thinking to heroically jump in between the fighters and save Harper from further damage.
(Credit: DAZN)Lyson knew he had no option but to end the fight there and then.
Video: Mark Lyson saves Terri Harper
Watch the footage here:
Speaking on DAZN, per talkSPORT, Tony Bellew said Lyson “deserves all the credit in the world” for stopping the fight when he did.
“The most important thing I’d like to recognise is the great job Mark Lyson done there,” Bellew commented.
“Because Terri Harper is asleep on her feet.
“And the second punch that Mark Lyson stops [from] landing clean, that could’ve really done damage to Terri Harper there.
“Mark Lyson deserves all the credit in the world. It was a brilliant, brilliant call.”
Boxing fans praise Mark Lyson for stoppage
Bellew’s thoughts were echoed by a host of boxing fans on Twitter:
It’s not every day that referees are praised for their calls but credit where it’s due: Lyson got this one absolutely spot on.
