River City Boxing Club's Egelani Taito was effectively beaten before he began his attempt at a title at the Boxing NZ 2018 National Championships in Christchurch last week.
The 26-year-old Taito drew double Commonwealth gold boxer David Nyika first up and was immediately on the back foot.
Trainer Eddie Tofa advised his fighter to go straight on attack if he was to have any chance of beating such a formidable opponent.
"I told him to attack, attack, attack - it was the only way he was going to beat Nyika," Tofa said.
"Unfortunately, two minutes into the first round Egelani walked straight into Nyika's right hand and started staggering. He didn't go down, but the referee saw his eyes rolling and looked over at me. I had the towel ready to through into the ring. It's our responsibility as trainers to look after our fighters, especially in the amateur ranks.