Boxing star knocked out cold after disgusting sucker punch

A boxer keeled over unconscious after a controversial cheap shot that has caused uproar despite the punch being ruled to be a legal hit.

Ruben Torres touched gloves with Cristian Baez, and then immediately proceeded to sock him in the face.

In the seventh round of a lightweight fight in California on Sunday morning (AEST), both fighters had been knocked down. After Baez made the motion to touch gloves, Torres knocked his opponent out with a vicious sucker punch, The New York Post reports.

The referee declared Torres’ punch to be legal, and the fighter was unapologetic in the aftermath.

Photos of the incident are ugly to see and video of the punch makes it look even worse.

“They always say protect yourself at all times,” he said.

“This is boxing and fighters like myself are always on the attack. The referee gave the signal to start fighting again and I came out guns blazing, especially after I knocked him down. I hit him with a left hook and that was it, the fight was over. I’m ready to move on to bigger and better fights as I march up the rankings.”

The fighters touch gloves in the ring.

Controversy in the ring as boxer drops like a bag of rocks after savage sucker punch

A reverse angle of the punch.

Cristian Baez was out cold.

Not everyone agreed with Torres.

Mark Ortega, who is a producer for PBC on Fox, said it was a “lie” from Torres that he came out guns blazing.

After being head butted by Victor Ortiz, Floyd Mayweather Knocks him TF out as he tried to hug it out with Floyd

"Protect yourself at all times" pic.twitter.com/3pF8uJkpFx

— Gmane (@GmaneBoxing) June 13, 2022

“He went to touch gloves and then immediately uncorked the KO blow. Guns blazing would’ve been not touching gloves. Legal, but dirty,” Ortega tweeted.

There were some references to how something similar happened when Floyd Mayweather knocked out Victor Ortiz in 2011 shortly after an embrace.

— This story originally appeared on nypost.com and has been republished with permission

Originally published as Boxing star knocked out cold after disgusting sucker punch