There's a lot of merit to this statement but ultimately it is up to the ref and I guess that since Moutinho wasn't acting at all rattled outside of one instance that he quickly recovered from, Herb must have thought that he can't stop it. If a fighter doesn't look affected by a flurry of punches, it isn't right to stop the fight. The long-term damage is probably immense yes, but that isn't Herb's job to determine.
Had he stopped it in the 2nd round I think he would be facing even more criticism than he did for stopping it with 30 secs left.
but that kid has some heart…and chin.
Yes, the toughest chin I have ever seen in this sport. He had a lot to prove last weekend, and I think he did it even with a loss.