Emanuel Augustus stops Ray Oliveira

Did Steve Smoger save a warrior's life?

08/07/2005

Emanuel Augustus stops Ray Oliveira

Ray Oliveira gave his usual all-out effort against Emanuel Augustus in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire on Friday, but sadly, fifteen years in the game have taken their toll on this gallant warrior.  Augustus outboxed Oliveira. There were no knockdowns and Oliveira didn't seem to have taken an unusual amount of punishment. Even his offense was there as usual (Oliveira threw 871 punches in eight rounds compared to 813 for Augustus), but in the eighth round he began clutching his head in pain for no apparent reason. With Martin Sanchez's recent death still fresh in the sport's consciousness, it was very disturbing to see Oliveira hold his own head with one hand and hit Emanuel Augustus with the other. Oliveira's fans know it is not too far-fetched to think that he would literally die before he quit. Luckily, the referee was Steve Smoger, the sport's most underrated, and perhaps the best. Instantly realizing what was going on, the attorney called over the doctor and subtly advocated for the welterweight bout to be stopped.  The doctor didn't get the hint but when the round ended, Smoger took matters into his own hands by stopping the bout.  Great call.  The ending overshadowed a fine performance by Augustus. Ray, if you read this, thank you for giving us so many thrills.  You won an IBU title, you beat three men who held recognized world titles (Vivian Harris, Charles Murray and Vince Phillips) and you had a great run in the sport. Thank you for giving your maximum effort every time in the ring. But the day has come for you to retire before something bad happens. -Scott Shaffer