(Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor – Steve Marcus/Reuters)

If you think that the referee’s stoppage Saturday night was early, keep reading. If you believe it was a good stoppage, please go on enjoying your Sunday morning coffee.

I want to start this off with something for you to keep in mind. Fighters are human beings (I hope that didn’t shock anyone). They take major risks in their profession, some that have consequences that last a lifetime. I feel like a lot of fight fans don’t remember that. Especially on mega-fights like Saturday nights.

First and foremost, from the start of this fight being put together, the Nevada State Athletic Commission said that they would never normally sanction a match up like this. An undefeated 49-0 boxing legend against a guy making his professional boxing debut? No commission would. But when you’re fighters of this magnitude, they allow it (aka this was a major financial gain for Vegas).

Then when both parties agreed to bring the glove size down to 8-ounces from 10-ounces, their health awareness spiked. The NSAC vowed that the ringside doctors would be more on top of McGregor than usual when it came to his health and safety.

How boring for us fight fans, right? Well, sorry guys, but the bottom line is McGregor doesn’t owe you his life and well-being.

We’re at a time in sports where Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE aka brain trauma) is constantly making headlines. This isn’t something we just see in combat sports, but also in major sports like football. Boxers, mixed martial artists and football players alike are dealing with major mental and physical issues from this, many have even taken their own lives.

Please keep in mind also, there is no standing 8-count in Nevada. This is why. The standing eight count is also known a protection count, which is ironic. This is basically on the ref. They have the responsibility to stop the action and count to eight then decide whether the fighter can continue or not. Basically, you’re giving them eight seconds to get their wits back and return to the action. Recent studies have determined how this is actually hurting the fighters more than protecting them.

McGregor isn’t the young 20-something he was when we first met him four years ago. He has created an multi-million dollar empire, including his latest endeavor, McGregor Promotions. He started a family with his long-time girlfriend and now has a son to think about. All before the age of 30. There is so much more ahead of him and $100 million isn’t the price tag to lose all that.

In the end, we got 10-rounds of back and forth action between two world class fighters who are at the top of their respective sports. We also got three months of press conferences, social media jabs and hype like we have never seen.

To think that the referee should of continued to let Mayweather beat down on McGregor, after not defending himself for over a minute, shows how much more fight fans need to consider before jumping to conclusions.