Boxing referee Tony Weeks released a statement defending the controversial early stoppage of the fight between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Fredrick Lawson.
This past weekend, Ortiz Jr. faced Lawson in a welterweight bout. After two minutes of opening back and forth, Ortiz Jr. he got the upper hand and pinned Lawson, unloading a series of blows on his opponent, who was covering.
Suddenly, the referee stepped in and waved the fight off, despite Lawson still smartly defending himself. The TKO victory for Ortiz Jr extended his record to 20-0, but the result has drawn a lot of criticism as many believe Weeks called the fight too early.
After the fight and subsequent backlash, Weeks took to social media to defend his decision.
According to the referee, he stopped the fight due to Lawson’s pre-fight brain scans, two of which showed he had a possible aneurysm. Weeks wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post:
“What the public didn’t know was that before the fight they had a brain scan and it turned out he had an aneurysm and they tested again and the same aneurysm showed up.” [h/t Michael Benson]
Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions has since responded to Weeks’ claim, insisting that Lawson was cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
Watch Tony Weeks’ full statement and Golden Boy’s response here:
Fans React to Virgil Ortiz Jr.’s Early Stoppage by Tony Wicks vs. Fredrick Lawson
Prior to Tony Weeks’ statement regarding his controversial decision to stop the fight between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Fredrick Lawson, fans couldn’t help but feel like they’d seen it before.
Weeks has previously been criticized on more than one occasion for calling a fight early, with many noting his performance during Roland Romero’s flyweight title fight against Ismael Barroso.
The referee controversially waved the fight in the ninth round, awarding a TKO victory in favor of Romero. Barroso was ahead of all three judges’ scores at the time.
Reacting to Weeks’ latest controversial break, one fan wrote:
“Without the fans, you don’t get boxing… Terrible stoppage. If it was the 11th round, that’s one thing and the first or second round. You’re kidding me, I’d like a refund.”
Another user added:
“Ref had a bet to cover”
One fan even claimed it was the worst layup they’d ever seen:
“This could be the worst attitude I’ve ever seen”
See more reactions here: