Why can't even a great fighter couldn't recover when overwhelmed by a knockdown in the first round?

Question

do they panic and too embarassed to regroup and just rua away for the rest of the round to finish and have a rest? why do they still make the effort to mix it up? is this a fighter instinct?

sometimes i just wonder, why don't they just wait to end the round and get some second wind?

Answer 1

You just answered it yourself, they are overwhelmed. Naturally, the fighter who was knocked down will lose heaps of confidence while his opponent gains confidence.This is bad, because the fighter who was knocked down will be overly cautious and not throw any punches while his opponent will only get more aggressive and let all everything hang out while he looks for the knockout.

Answer 2

Think about how it feels to be knocked out. When your "knocked out" your going to be disoriented. Everything changes and you will not be 100% until a full recovery. The mental aspect could be the worst because the fighter might start to lose his focus. They could start hesitating, being too cautious, too aggressive to catch up, just thinking too much, physically/mentally hurt, etc. Fighting requires the right state of mind, conditioning and technique. Naturally a knock out in the first round will put you in huge disadvantage and mistakes can progressively get worse.

Answer 3

Its not only physically damaging but emotionally and mentally damaging as well. Even a flash knockdown can cause a fighter to panic and do things he normally wouldnt. Great fighters can recover however. Not 100% of the time mind you but the one that comes to mind is Marquez in the 1st Pacquio fight. He was knocked down 3 times in the first round and went on to get a draw (I thought he won the fight truthfully) but to get back to your question, a hard knockdown puts a fighter into "fight or flight" mode. His body is telling him "i'm not doing so good, I need you to get me out of this" so the fighter either tries to stand and trade (Arturo Gatti) or tries to play defense until the round is over and he can rest (this seems to be the most common route)