Ref sees end even if Solis beats count

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The third man on the ring knew that the fight was over the moment Jorge Solis hit the canvas the second time.

Vic Drakulich, the American referee in Saturday’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and Solis, said he would have stopped the fight even if the Filipino’s opponent managed to beat the count in the 1:16 mark of the eighth round.

"I may be speculating here but there’s a good chance I would have stopped the fight anyway if he beat the count," said Drakulich, the same referee who counted out Erik Morales in his fight with Pacquiao last November.

Solis dropped to the canvas early in the eighth round after taking a powerful left to the jaw. But he got up quickly, and tried hard to survive the round, only to get caught by another left to the face.

This time, he took a very difficult time getting up as the American referee reached the count of 10.

"His glove was still touching the mat when I got to 10. And he’s not up until he gets his glove off the mat. But I would have stopped the fight even if he managed to beat the count," said Drakulich.

Of the cut over Pacquiao’s left eyebrow, Drakulich said it wasn’t bad enough to even consider stopping the fight before a packed arena.

"It wasn’t severe enough to stop the fight. The doctor took a look at it. For me it was just a gash and nothing horrendous," he said as he walked off the Alamodome with World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman.

Drakulich said he’d love to work more fights with Pacquiao.

"Of course I’d love to do it again. Manny is a great fighter. He’s a great guy. But he’s got to remember that he has to stay in the corner when I’m counting. It was the second time he came out early," he said. – Abac Cordero