This one is simple. Stipe is wrong. No matter how many times he defended the belt he got ko’d In the first round. He shouldn’t get an immediate rematch. It would be different if it went to a hard fought decision. Go wreck a guy or two then ask for another shot.
To make matters worse for him, he was never a draw as a champ. I don’t understand it either, seems like he should’ve been- but he wasn’t. The promoter is not going to do you any favors when you don’t move the needle. That has been proven time and again.
