Josh Warrington suffered burst ear drum and fractured draw in shock defeat to Mauricio Lara and Carl Frampton among many questioning why he was allowed to fight on beyond the fourth round

Josh Warrington suffered a brutal ninth round knockout defeat on Saturday night but, for most observers, the fight should have been stopped long before then.

The Brit was on the end of a huge upset in London as he was beaten by the unheralded Mexican Mauricio Lara in what was supposed to be an easy night's work.

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Warrington was dropped in the fourth round and never recovered, with Lara closing the show in the ninth to become the first man to beat the former IBF world featherweight champion.

While the 30-year-old was praised for his bravery in continuing on, both the referee, Howard Foster, and the Leeds fighter's corner have come in for strong criticism for allowing it to continue beyond the fourth.

Warrington was given oxygen in the ring after he was KOd and taken straight to hospital, where it was found he had suffered a fractured jaw and burst eardrum.

His former rival Carl Frampton was among many questioning why the referee or Warrington's corner had not ended the bout earlier, and claims it could well have a hugely damaging effect on his future in boxing.

“I thought he took a lot of punishment and, when he stood up to come out for the fifth round, he did not look right," said Frampton.

“In my opinion he should have been pulled out at the end of the fourth, before the fifth started. It is going to be hard to come back from that physically and mentally.

“Josh is going to have a load of criticism but he is a very good fighter who had a bad night.

“Credit to Lara. I hope he goes on to get a world title shot. I am disappointed for Josh and I think it is going to be a long road back.”

“Fights like that, when they are that brutal, are like having four or five fights in one night."

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Boxing trainer Adam Booth and former cruiserweight world champion Jonny Nelson, both , insisted the fight should have been stopped earlier too.

"I would have stopped the fight in the fourth round, and I would have stopped the fight in the fifth round when he walked out," said Booth.

"If I was in his corner, I would have thrown the towel in. You could see from his legs that he hadn't recovered in the fifth round.

"He actually got caught with a heavy shot in the first round. He was more disciplined in round two and three, but then with a limited, heavy-handed puncher, stood with his head up in the air trading.

"He paid the price in the fourth round. I don't think he knew what he was doing from that point on. He didn't look like he knew where he was and it looked like a knockout waiting to happen, from that point on. I didn't enjoy watching it, if I'm honest, because I don't think it should have carried on."

Nelson added: "I'm a massive fan of The (British) Boxing Board of Control, but they had a stinker tonight.

"I bet Josh Warrington cannot remember anything past the first knockdown. That's madness."

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talkSPORT's Adam Catterall believed Warrington should have been spared further punishment too.

He reflected: "From a performance point of view, Josh looked flat from the first very moment. After about 30 seconds, I thought 'why is he fighting this style of fight?'

"He wanted to absolutely trade and throw bombs with an extremely heavy-hitter from the very first moment.

"In the fourth round he got clipped clean on the chin. He went down, got up and was taking clean, heavy shots and Howard Foster stood there and let it crack on.

"It was coming towards the end of the round and the bell saved him, there's no doubt about that. Howard Foster has to carry him to his corner. He knows full well he was out.

"The fight should have been called there and then. I can't believe what I witnessed."

Josh Warrington: "I still feel I've got what it takes to achieve my dreams and my goals. The Leeds Warrior's not over yet. It's a bump in the road, but it happens to the best of us. It'll only give me more motivation to come back even stronger. Full credit to Mauricio Lara."