Should have been a ref stoppage in round 9

[garfios]

I'm going to guess that most people (myself included) probably meant a mandatory 8 rather than a standing 8. To be a little pedantic.

Once he felt against the ropes the ref has every right to start counting, it is a knock down, the only thing stopping him to crumble to the floor was the ropes.

[sensfulviolence]

Re the slow count, it didnt matter, because the KD happened with 10 sec. left, so the round would have ended anyway w/out an opportunity to KO Fury,

Also, and this is weird, the the count was slow -- but it wasnt the ref who was counting. There was a voice on the PA counting -- and it stopped at 4 for some reason, and then resumed counting from 5. Maybe the voice was responding to something the ref was signaling?


And again I say, if the ref had stopped the fight and TKO'd Fury, there would be all kinds of controversy, the Fury fanboys would be insufferable. It was a judgment call, the ref COULD HAVE stopped it.... but Im very glad he didnt. Let the fighters decide it. Luckily 2/3 of the refs got it right.

All in all, I think the ref did a good job.

[MulaKO]

Re the slow count, it didnt matter, because the KD happened with 10 sec. left, so the round would have ended anyway w/out an opportunity to KO Fury,

Also, and this is weird, the the count was slow -- but it wasnt the ref who was counting. There was a voice on the PA counting -- and it stopped at 4 for some reason, and then resumed counting from 5. Maybe the voice was responding to something the ref was signaling?

Not if the ref would of called it the second or third time the ropes held him up

[j0zef]

Ehhh, it's arguable, but I'll say no. I believe the official rules say that you're not allowed to use the ropes to keep yourself upright. So in theory, the first time Fury bounced off the ropes, he should have been ruled knocked down and given a standing 8.
The ref definitely stopped Usyk from throwing punches at the end, and Usyk thought it was declared a KO win. He pulled his punches. It was inconsistent refereeing. Weird time to rule a knockdown.

I definitely think Fury benefited from this interaction. A ruled KD is the best he could have hoped for. Ref saved him from further beating with that late KD ruling, while half of other refs would have ruled a KO and jumped in.

[SUBZER0ED]

Have to agree with this. It looked like the ref did his best to ignore the falling into the ropes rule to avoid giving Usyk a 10-8 round and only applied it when Fury was helpless and about to be punched off the ropes and onto the canvas.

I think maybe the ref felt that fans watching the first HW championship fight since Lewis vs Holyfield deserved to see it through to the end, rather than Fury called out on his feet.

[Gideon lock]

Ehhh, it's arguable, but I'll say no. I believe the official rules say that you're not allowed to use the ropes to keep yourself upright. So in theory, the first time Fury bounced off the ropes, he should have been ruled knocked down and given a standing 8.
The ref definitely stopped Usyk from throwing punches at the end, and Usyk thought it was declared a KO win. He pulled his punches. It was inconsistent refereeing. Weird time to rule a knockdown.

I definitely think Fury benefited from this interaction. A ruled KD is the best he could have hoped for. Ref saved him from further beating with that late KD ruling, while half of other refs would have ruled a KO and jumped in.

Good points Jozef

[_Rexy_]

Fury was clearly held up by the ropes, which is technically a knockdown. Therefore, what the ref issued was a mandatory eight count (different from a standing eight count). Mandatory eight counts are a requirement when a fighter is knocked down. Hopes this clears up some confusion. Here’s the Wikipedia page on this issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_eight_count

I agree, and this was touched on later. I’m more speaking to the people who think he was just given an arbitrary standing 8

[_Rexy_]

Seemed like a lack of respect for Usyk's power. Against Wilder, he went down quick when things got rough.

Wilder never got Fury RIGHT on the button like that. He dropped him with temple shots and a forehead shot (which is testament to Wilder’s power) but Usyk popped Fury right on that perfect spot, and Fury didn’t see it coming

[4truth]

Wilder never got Fury RIGHT on the button like that. He dropped him with temple shots and a forehead shot (which is testament to Wilder’s power) but Usyk popped Fury right on that perfect spot, and Fury didn’t see it coming

There were a couple of knockdowns where things had gotten a little chaotic and I felt Fury chose to take an 8 count to regroup rather that risk Wilder landing something debilitating in the confusion. Maybe this is just an example of a tall clumsy guy falling down but it looked calculated to me. That wasn't a punch that I would normally expect to put Fury down.

N0pzHL6.gif

[_Rexy_]

There were a couple of knockdowns where things had gotten a little chaotic and I felt Fury chose to take an 8 count to regroup rather that risk Wilder landing something debilitating in the confusion. Maybe this is just an example of a tall clumsy guy falling down but it looked calculated to me. That wasn't a punch that I would normally expect to put Fury down.

N0pzHL6.gif

That was the second KD in the round right? He was really hurt form the first one in the corner. He wasn't recovery when this one happened.