By Dan Ambrose: Photo credit Sumio Yamada -The referee really did WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel no favors by allowing the fight to continue after he was knocked down tonight by challenger Nonito Donaire in their fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Montiel was tagged with a huge left hook by Donaire after Montiel had landed a glancing right hand. The left hook from Donaire whip-lashed Montiel’s head, sending him down on the canvas on his back.

Montiel briefly went into a leg spasm from the knockdown before starting to get up, and falling down. Incredibly, after Montiel made it to his feet and was teetering, the referee Russell Mora decided to allow it to continue. Donaire then quickly came across the ring and landed a right-left combination to the head of Montiel while he was trapped in the corner.

Montiel didn’t even try to block shots, instead he kept his hands down by his sides. It was only then that the referee decided to jump in and stop the fight. What I don’t understand is why didn’t the referee stop the fight after the knockdown?

If there was ever a case where a fight needed to be stopped immediately, it was this one. That was a brutal left hook that Donaire threw and Montiel never saw it coming. It literally seemed to crush his face in slow motion. It looked bad and it’s surprising that Montiel was even able to get up from the knockdown, but it still should have been stopped right then and there.