Austin Hubbard doesn’t fault Max Rohskopf for quitting on stool, but would never do same

Even if Austin Hubbard’s fight with Max Rohskopf had gone to the third round, he was sure judges wouldn’t get involved.

“I was ready to go out and finish him in the third round,” Hubbard said after his second-round TKO over Rohskopf that was called off after the newcomer said he couldn’t continue. “I could tell he was broken. I felt like I was landing some good shots, some hard shots.

“In my mind, that fight was not going to make it to the end of the third. It’s fine that it stopped sooner than I thought it going to. I’ll take it.”

After a competitive first round, Hubbard estimates his work in the second frame turned the tide in his favor and ultimately was too much for Rohskopf. While he doesn’t fault his opponent for not wanting to continue, he said he was surprised when that decision was made over the protests of Rohskopf’s coach, ex-UFC fighter and jiu-jitsu standout Robert Drysdale.

“I never experienced that,” Hubbard said. “I know I was hitting him clean. I can’t blame him. He’s a tough kid. He was taking them well.

“I could tell those were hurting him, though. The calf kicks, I was landing some hard head shots. I could tell he was a little cloudy. So I’m not surprised, and in my mind, I was finishing that fight for sure.”

Asked whether he might be upset if his coach tried to talk him out of quitting on the stool, Hubbard said it would never happen in the first place.

“I would never do that,” he said. “They would have to stop me from going out there than me not wanting to go out there.”