Jeff Horn's trainer and promoter have both disputed referee Robert Byrd's decision to end his clash with Terence Crawford in the belief he could have pulled something out of the bag.
Horn was blown away by Crawford in their world title fight on Sunday (AEST), suffering his first defeat as a professional at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
All three judges had Crawford up 80-72 - meaning Horn had not won a single round in their eyes - when Byrd intervened late in the ninth round following a furious flurry of punches from the American.
CompuBox statistics also painted a picture of total domination, with Crawford landing 155 shots to just 58 from Horn.
But trainer Glenn Rushton genuinely believed Byrd was too hasty in calling a stop to the fight.
"I thought that stoppage was too quick," he said.
"He actually got hurt more against Manny Pacquiao.
"Many of the rounds were very close ... we did say with four rounds to go, just hang in there, look for the opportunity.
"We were planning for a big finish, we wanted to bring it home really hard in the last two or three rounds but that didn't quite happen."
Horn also reckoned he had more left in the tank, although he acknowledged his wife Jo was probably glad to see the fight ended when it was.
Horn certainly looked worse for wear when he eventually fronted the press more than an hour after the fight, having been sewn back together with 26 stitches from a plastic surgeon.
Duco Events promoter Dean Lonergan didn't believe Horn was ever outclassed.
"You've got to understand, Jeff Horn is one of the toughest individuals to come out of Australia," he said.
"I think he could have gone on for another round or two and it would have been nice to see what would have happened with a bit more tiredness in Crawford.
"Having said that, it is what it is. The referee was right there and was probably doing the best thing by the fighter."
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