Chad Dawson TKOs Bernard Hopkins and the 10 Most Controversial Knockouts

Bernard Hopkins suffered a controversial technical knockout loss at the hands of Chad Dawson last Saturday, October 15, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Dawson shoved Hopkins to the ground, injuring his shoulder. The referee waved off the fight after checking to see if Hopkins could continue with one arm.

A second round stoppage was awarded to Dawson, who the referee determined did not foul Hopkins. Hopkins' stay on the canvas was far too long for someone wanting to prove he could continue the fight.

Controversy and complaints have followed ever since. There have been many controversial knockouts awarded in boxing, here are the 10 most controversial.

Aaron Pryor Stops Alexis Arguello in Round 14

Aaron Pryor was the WBA light welterweight world champion. His challenger on November 12 1982 was the legendary "Explosive Thin Man" Alexis Arguello.

Arguello and Pryor traded blows in what became one of the best fights of the 1980s, but something suspicious happened right before the 14th round.

Panama Lewis had his assistants hand him a second water bottle. HBO cameras caught Lewis saying, "No, not that one, the one I mixed."

Lewis claimed after the fight that he had just mixed Perrier water with tap water, but doubts of the validity of that claim continued for months.

When Lewis was fingered a few years later as the man behind the removal of the padding in Luis Resto's gloves for his fight against Billy Collin Jr, Resto was asked about Lewis' mixed bottles.

Resto said Lewis broke asthma pills in the water to give the fighter greater lung capacity. This would give the fighter much greater stamina. Pryor was known for his great stamina.

Pryor took Arguello out in the round that followed the introduction of the bottle, Round 14. Though Pryor passed urine drug tests before and after the fight, a rematch was given with similar drug testing.

Pryor would win again, but by knockout in Round Ten. Pryor's corner did not introduce the use of an extra water bottle.

David Tua Stops Hasim Rahman in Round 10

Famous IBF heavyweight title eliminator in which an undefeated Hasim Rahman was outboxing David Tua very well. Then after the bell ended Round Nine, Tua hit Rahman with the meanest punch of the night.

Rahman was not given any more time to recover and went into Round 10 still dazed from a punch landed between rounds.

Tua continued the assault and sent Rahman against the ropes. Had the referee followed the rules, he could have awarded Tua a knockdown to give Rahman time to recover, as the ropes were momentarily the only thing holding him up.

Then as Tua began his assault, Rahman ducked, bobbed and weaved various punches. Not many punches landed at all—let alone cleanly—when the referee stepped in for an early stoppage that upset many fans and journalists.

The two would have a rematch years later resulting in a draw, but Rahman's undefeated record was snatched forever.

Floyd Mayweather KOs Victor Ortiz in Round 4

Floyd Mayweather came back from a 16-month hiatus to snatch the WBC world welterweight title belt from "Vicious" Victor Ortiz by way of knockout.

Sounds exciting, right? Well not to the pay-per-view watchers who shell out their money.

Mayweather had Ortiz frustrated after the 24-year-old tried in vain to land cleanly on the 34-year-old veteran.

Mayweather just kept proving elusive as he hit Ortiz whenever he wanted. Then Ortiz hit Mayweather with something that sent him sprawling backwards into the corner.

Ortiz unleashed an assault that hit nothing but shoulder, arm and rope as Mayweather proved elusive even in the corner of the ring.

A frustrated Ortiz jumped off the ground to deliver a headbutt to Mayweather's face, busting his lip.

The referee, Joe Cortez, deducted a point from Ortiz. Ortiz apologized to Mayweather and kissed him on the cheek.

Mayweather noticed Cortez say, "Let's go" to both fighters and wave them to continue. Ortiz tried to hug Mayweather again.

Mayweather shoved him off and hit him with a left hook followed shortly by a straight right that sent Ortiz straight to the canvas.

Ortiz couldn't get up and was counted out, awarding Mayweather the knockout and not the fans.

Calls of Mayweather began and still litter the Internet to this day. Mayweather continues to fulfill his on-screen role as the ultimate villain in boxing. 

Billy Fox KOs Jake LaMotta in Round 4

The "Raging Bull" Jake LaMotta faced Billy Fox on November 14 1947 at the Madison Square Garden.

LaMotta had taken a dive in Round 4 to award Billy Fox the knockout victory as a favor to the mob.

The mob pad him $20,000 and awarded him a middleweight title bout against Marcel Cerdan, arguably the greatest French boxer of all time.

The New York Athletic Commission suspected that the fight was fixed, but the fix had become very obvious from Round 1.

According to ESPN, LaMotta said the following:

"

"Fox can't even look good. The first round, a couple of belts to his head, and I see a glassy look coming over his eyes. Jesus Christ, a couple of jabs and he's going to fall down? I began to panic a little. I was supposed to be throwing a fight to this guy, and it looked like I was going to end up holding him on his feet ... By [the fourth round], if there was anybody in the Garden who didn't know what was happening, he must have been dead drunk.

"

The FBI would later investigate the farce of a match-up and LaMotta testified to having participated in the staging of the fight.

Chad Dawson TKOs Bernard Hopkins in Round 2

Bernard Hopkins recently became the oldest world champion in boxing history at age 46 with his victory over former light heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal this past May.

On October 15, Hopkins faced Chad Dawson, a 29-year-old former world champion. Dawson outboxed him in Round 1. Hopkins stayed relatively elusive as Round 2 began.

As Round 2 came to a close, Dawson knocked Hopkins out of a clinch with his shoulder. Hopkins fell over and hurt his shoulder.

The referee checked to see if Hopkins wanted to continue and he said he'd continue "with one arm."

Referee Pat Russell waved the fight off as he determined that there had been no foul that placed Hopkins on the ground.

Dawson's shoulder toss was considered legal. Golden Boy, Hopkins' promoter, says they will protest the knockout to see if it can become a "no decision."

Until then, Dawson owns the only knockout victory over the legendary Bernard "Executioner" Hopkins.

Julio Cesar Chavez Stops Meldrick Taylor in Round 12

Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez were two young undefeated welterweight world champions that were considered the two best pound-for-pound fighters on Earth.

On March 17 1990, they went to war. Chavez came armed with heavy fists and a tough chin. Taylor came with blinding hand speed and superior boxing ability.

Taylor's boxing ability proved to be the breakout star as Taylor outboxed the slower Chavez and then would trade with him just to show he could, even winning many of the exchanges.

Chavez was down by five points on two of the three official judges' cards, and down by six on the other judge's card going into the 12th and final round.

Chavez knew he needed a knockout and went for it, flooring Taylor. With seconds to go, all Taylor had to do was make it to his feet to win the fight.

Taylor made it to his feet with less than 10 seconds to go. The referee asked Taylor if he was alright and when Taylor didn't immediately respond, the ref waved off the fight with only two seconds to go.

Some say the referee, Richard Steele, was paid off by Chavez's promoter Don King. Others say he saw a man hurt and wanted a response before he sent him out to fight.

The general opinion of the press and fans was that a man who fights the way Taylor fought should be allowed the seconds just for making it to his feet.

Such a decision drew outrage and controversy that overshadow the boxing classic that would become Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Decade" for the 1990s.

Muhammad Ali KOs Sonny Liston in Round 1

May 25 1965, the newly named Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) was facing Sonny Liston in a rematch of their shocking 1964 fight.

Liston had previously quit on his stool against Ali before Round 7. Liston claimed a shoulder injury, but some suspected he took a dive to make more money out of the loud-mouth challenger in a rematch.

Ali continued to use his mouth to insult Liston and excitement for the rematch was at an all-time high. That only intensified the shock when Ali was able to send Liston to the canvas with one punch in the first round.

Liston fell on his back, rolled around to get up, but fell down again and was counted out. Ali ran towards Liston when he got up as if to attack him again, but the referee got Ali off of him so he could officially wave off the fight.

The confusing ending left many suspecting Liston had took a dive to appease his well-known secret mob ties.

Liston himself claimed he feared retaliation from the Nation of Islam, the religious organization that Ali had become a poster-boy for in the 1960s.

Liston would die in 1970 of a questionable heroin overdose and the secrets of his fights with Ali died with him.

Sugar Ray Leonard vs Roberto Duran

June 20 1980 produced an great welterweight showdown that Roberto Duran won against Sugar Ray Leonard by unanimous decision. Leonard requested a rematch and Duran agreed.

The rematch took place just five months later on November 25 1980 in New Orleans. Leonard went into full boxing mode, a change from his flat-footed attempt to brawl with Duran in their previous fight.

Duran was outclassed thoroughly, leaving no mystery as to who was winning the decision going into the eighth round.

Leonard kept popping Duran in the face, yet Duran couldn't return fire thanks to Leonard's fleet-footed slickness.

As Round 8 came to an end, Duran walked away from the referee saying the now famous phrase. "No Mas." That means "No More" in Spanish.

Duran, a man who had never been knocked out and who was known to never give up, had given up. The fans and media were shocked. Duran's motivation was questioned.

Some say he had fought to close his original match and should have taken more time off. Other opinions say he was just frustrated with Leonard's evasiveness and gave up out of embarrassment.

Whatever the case, fans were shocked. Duran would have to work very hard to fully redeem himself in the eyes of his fans, which he would over the course of the next few decades.

Emile Griffith Stops Benny "The Kid" Paret in Round 12

Emile Griffith and Benny Paret were fierce rivals. Each had a win over the other when they met at Madison Square Garden on national television March 24 1962.

Griffith had been troubled by Paret in Round 6, but came back for blood the following rounds, culminating in the controversial Round 12.

Griffith's trainer, Gil Clancy, told Griffith to "...keep punching until Paret holds you or the referee breaks you! But you keep punching until he does that!"

Griffith continuously punched Paret in the face while he was in a corner, not only snapping Paret's neck back but making the fighter go limp and lay back in unconsciousness. Griffith kept punching.

The referee had not stopped Griffith in a reasonable time, resulting in the death of Paret 10 days later from his injuries obtained from the fight. Paret never woke up from Griffith's final assault.

Griffith, currently 73 years old, still has nightmares about the fight. Some say Griffith was called a "maricon" by Paret at the weigh-in for their third and final fight.

Griffith's culture did not such names lightly, possibly fueling Griffith's rage, which has turned into apologetic regret in recent years.

Griffith has been able to apologize in person to Paret's son, but his widow refused to see him. She died in 2004.

Ray Mancini KOs Du Koo Kim in Round 14

Du Koo Kim was a 21-year-old Korean hot boxing prospect set to take on lightweight world champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini on November 13 1982.

Kim gave Mancini hell, tearing open his left ear and swelling up his left eye. Mancini didn't give up and fought back so hard that Kim couldn't return enough fire.

The referee stopped the fight in Round 14 after Kim had crashed to the canvas and got up on shaky feet. Kim collapsed after the fight.

He was taken to a hospital for emergency brain surgery. After the surgery failed, Kim survived four days before dying.

This fight was so critical to boxing history as it sparked enough controversy to change the amount of rounds for title bouts from 15 to 12.

By the end of the 1980s, all major world title bouts were limited to 12. A great change in safety for boxing came at the horrible cost of life in the ring.