Welterweight Alex Rocha had the shine taken off his superb stoppage over George Ashie on a night of celebration for Golden Boy Promotions.
Rocha took out late substitute Ashie in the seventh round after a systematic and sustained beatdown for the duration.
Many who witnessed the fight, namely those involved in the sport, thought Ashie had taken enough before he took an unwarranted one-punch KO.
Ashie sickeningly hit the canvas and caused panic initially as he attempted to recover.
Throughout the night, the energy was eclectic at the inaugural boxing event at YouTube Theater. Fans watched through their fingers as the main event action featured the Santa Ana favorite.
Alexis Rocha knockout
With the win, Rocha moved to 22-1, representing his 14th early night. Ashie drops to 33-5-2, with 25 KOs after his most damaging defeat.
Ashie got dropped in the third round. He was eventually halted at an official time of 2:08 in the seventh.
👀 WHAT AN ENDING! @AlexisRocha777 with a BIG KO over a very tough and resilient George Ashie.#RochaAshie | LIVE on @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/GonU27Kgxo
— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) January 29, 2023
However, Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella wasn’t happy with what he witnessed.
“They should stop this Rocha fight right now,” said DiBella before the end bazooka landed.
He added: “The Ghanaian fighter recovered well and fighting bravely. Taking a lot of punches. If he gets hurt again, I hope it is stopped quickly.”
It was over quickly, thankfully, but also in a horrific way that could have been avoided.
DiBella acknowledged this, to his credit, as an experienced boxing man.
“I don’t care how brave he was. There was no reason for that guy to be knocked out like that—too slow, old, little. There was no need!
“I pray that he’s okay,” said the Rocky VI star.
Rick Mirigian, an award-winning boxing manager, aired his views.
“I hope he [Ashie] was paid well. I thought that should have been stopped well before.”
Golden Boy meeting
Being the winning fighter, Rocha was obviously happy with his performance. At the end of the day, it’s not up to him to stop the contest.
He also stated he wanted to fight Terence Crawford, who met with Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins of Golden Boy before the fight.
Rocha said: “I wanted to make a statement. Crawford is next. But if that can’t happen, I want all the big names.
“I’m signed to the best promotional company in the world. I know they’ll make it happen.
“He [Ashie] was a tough fighter, but I knew he wasn’t going to hang with me.”
Furthermore, the fight was broadcast worldwide on DAZN.
