First and foremost, I am not here to discuss who should've won the fight on the scorecards. Dillian Whyte was the better men during most of the rounds and therefore is the justified winner ON THE SCORECARDS.
However, why did the referee let the fight continue after Dillian Whyte didn't respond to the 8 count with his GUARD UP after the referee was done counting?? RULES ARE RULES. You can't argue that.
''When the count reaches eight, the referee often moves back two steps and instructs the boxer to walk towards them and hold their arms out. This helps the referee determine if the boxer is functioning and alert enough to continue. If the boxer is unsteady on his feet, or seems unable to focus on the referee, the bout is ended on account of a TKO.''
And after the referee failed to follow the fundamental rules he proceeds to let Dillian Whyte blatantly out hug the last 15 seconds of the round while he was seriously hurt and done for. I get that Dillian Whyte should've been the overall winner of the fight. But imo Whyte got saved here! It's men versus men in there; not referee/men versus men.
I'm not even complaining about all the dirt stuff Whyte got away with after getting multiple warnings (it's a fight in the end of the day). But, rules are rules.