In the high-stakes world of boxing, where every punch carries weight, the life of fighters rests in the hands of the referee once they step into the ring. One of the core duties of referees is to protect weak fighters in the ring by stopping fights to prevent any unfortunate incident. In carrying out this important duty, most referees find themselves at the center of controversy when the stoppage comes too early.
In the last 7½ months, legendary boxing referee, Tony Weeks who has accrued over 30 years of experience as a ring official has had the boxing community talking about referees stopping fights prematurely even when it is obvious that the fighters have a lot more to give to boxing fans.
In the main event of Golden Boy Promotions fight night last Saturday in Las Vegas, Weeks stopped the fight between Vergil Ortiz Jr and Fredrick Lawson in the very first round of the fight after Ortiz pinned Lawson to the ropes to land a load of body shots.
Up until then, Lawson looked like he was still in the game and was doing fairly well protecting his head from the punches that were coming his way from all directions. However, Weeks thought otherwise and felt the need to step in to protect Lawson. Citing his reason for intervening, Tony Weeks told DAZN’s Beto Duran that he saw Lawson's eyes rolling back in his head.
In May of last year, Weeks made a similar call to stop the fight between Rolando Romero and Ismael Barroso in the ninth round, awarding the win to Romero even though Barroso was clearly still in the game and leading on all three scorecards. Just like Barruso, Lawson was quick to register his displeasure in Weeks' call to stop the fight.
As you would expect with any development in the boxing community, Tony Weeks' action has left the boxing world divided. And now to the question that begs answering; "Did Weeks exercise prudent judgment or prematurely alter the course of this fight?"
Cornelius Kwame Sakyi is a writer and boxing analyst for AceTVBoxing.com. He can be reached on Twitter @CorneliusSakyi or via email: sakyicornelius1@gmail.com.
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