'He was quite emotional': Unseen act of class in Tim Tszyu fight
Dennis Hogan's trainer has been hailed for his efforts after a superb act went largely unnoticed during the Irish fighter's fifth round loss to Tim Tszyu.
Tszyu continued his relentless pursuit of world-title glory with a brutal win over Hogan in Wednesday night's Steel City Showdown in Newcastle.
PROUD DAD: Kostya's touching message after Tim Tszyu masterclass
'HEART OF A CHAMP': German boxer overcomes grotesque head injury
'NEVER SEEN THAT': UFC world in disbelief over 'insane' moment
Hogan's camp threw in the towel midway through the fifth round after the 36-year-old could no longer withstand a savage assault from Tszyu.
Trainer Stephen Edwards was the man who threw in the towel on behalf of Hogan after seeing the damage that Tszyu's body blows and some savage uppercuts had done to his fighter.
Curiously, Edwards was also part of Jeff Horn's team when Tszyu inflicted a similar battering on the former world champion, whose trainer Glenn Rushton was criticised for not stopping the fight earlier.
Edwards was Horn's cutman on that occasion but agreed with the referee's call to stop the fight, despite Rushton encouraging Horn to give them one more round.
Seeing Tszyu dominate his fighter Hogan in similar fashion on Wednesday night, Edwards was quick to throw in the towel so his man didn't take any more unnecessary damage.
However, it was his actions after the fight - that not many people would have seen - that highlighted the trainer's genuine care for his fighter.
Tszyu was speaking inside the ring about his latest victory when Edwards came up to Australian boxing icon Barry Michael off-camera, to seek assurances that he'd made the right call.
“Stephen Edwards, off-camera, while Tim Tszyu was talking in the ring, came to our commentary position and he was quite emotional,” Main Event presenter Warren Smith said.
“He said, ‘Barry, please tell me I did the right thing’.
“I’ve got no doubt he did the right thing.”
Michael added: “He was very emotional, as you said, he definitely did the right thing.
“Dennis Hogan, he’d been down, that uppercut nearly took his head off, those body shots were ripping him apart.”
Trainer praised for throwing in towel
Main Event analyst Paul Kent also agreed that Edwards made the correct decision.
“Stephen Edwards did a great job stopping the fight when he did,” Kent said.
“There was no protest either from Hogan. When the towel went in, there was no protest.”
Smith said he was sure the Horn situation would have been weighing on Edwards' mind when he decided to throw in the towel for Hogan.
“That was the stoppage that Stephen Edwards was recommending to Glenn Rushton for Jeff Horn up in Townsville last year.
“Glenn Rushton let Jeff Horn go for longer than Stephen Edwards would have liked, and I’m sure he was determined not to make the same mistake for Dennis Hogan.”
Tszyu's victory extended the 26-year-old's undefeated record to 18 wins as he eyes a shot at the super welterweight world title.
The Aussie is the WBO's No.1-ranked challenger and is awaiting a crack at the winner of a likely battle between American Jermell Charlo and Argentina's Brian Castano.
with AAP
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.