Chael Sonnen defends Deontay Wilder corner stoppage

After his fight against Tyson Fury was stopped in the seventh round by his corner and trainer Mark Breland, Deontay Wilder was visibly upset. He’s even considering removing Breland from his team.

While some have understood Wilder’s desire to “go out on his shield” many have criticized him for his reaction towards Breland and now another name is being added to that list.

Chael Sonnen, who serves as a broadcaster and analyst on Bellator and ESPN, recently discussed the decision by Wilder’s corner and said that is their first rule as a team.

During the most recent episode of Ariel & The Bad Guy, Sonnen was asked for his take on Wilder’s corner stopping the fight. He feels it was the right thing to do.

A corner's FIRST rule is to protect their fighters. pic.twitter.com/uhXKbtONKW

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) February 26, 2020

“There’s a real respect to this, there’s an honor to it, but I don’t know that there’s much logic to it,” Sonnen said. “Look, I’m not a prude. This is combat sports, this is also about heart, grit, and determination. Those are things that fighters really want to be recognized for, not just championships and main event spots, not just for the money they made and the tickets they sold. They want to be known as somebody who tries, as somebody who will go out on their shield. I understand these things.

“But a corner has a different job,” Sonnen added. “A corner’s job, much like the athlete’s, much like the referee’s, is protect your guy at all times. It’s not a rule, it’s the first rule. If the corner does not believe that his fighter is going to win and his fighter is taking damage and we’re not going to reverse course of this fight, you get him out of there, that is the rule. You are licensed, you promised to do this, and not many coaches do this, they don’t want to be fired.”

What do you think of this comment from Chael Sonnen? Did Mark Breland make the right decision?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/27/2020.