Should the ref have stopped Fury in the 9th?

[Controversial]

I think a lot of refs would've stopped it had it been someone else or not such a big fight. You can argue a lot was at stake and Fury deserved the benefit of the doubt, he ended up going the distance so he did recover. What do you think?

[margaret thatcher]

i think he handled it right, despite all the complaints that he saved fury by giving a count and not letting usyk continue at him

it IS a thing for ref's to call KDs when they think the ropes held a fighter up. done many times before. i dont know why some people act as if the ref invented something new. and the ropes clearly held fury up. he was obviously badly hurt prior to that, but not to a level where i wouldve stopped it.

[jimb0d]

Fury did show good reflexes to get out of the way of the first follow up and was kind of purposely bouncing on middle of the ropes while mostly out of it. On the final attack before the count he was slumping into the corner so I can see why ref did step in. He was very lucky anyway you look at it.

[maverick23]

I think the ref was fine to let it continue. He gave a count when it was clear the ropes were holding him up and Fury recovered.

Perhaps another fighter wouldn’t have been given the same privilege but we know how tough Fury is and how quickly he can recover.

[handsofstone]

Yeh thought the ref got that right although you could argue he could've gave a count just before

[Ricky]

Clear stoppage.

[Boxerbeetle]

Technically I think he should have done, but made the right call given the circumstances.

[ALI]

Watching it live i thought the ref saved Fury by starting the count and should have let it go on.

Watching it back today, the ref did save Fury, but rightly so, he was going down, the ropes held him up, the ref was right to start the count.

No way should it have been stopped. I get Fury was in a bad way, but not enough to wave it off their and then.

In hindsight, very good job from the ref.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Clear stoppage.

Based on what?

[Ricky]

Clear stoppage.

Based on what?

He was knocked out on his feet and got battered from pillar to post.

[dookus]

Either call would have been justified.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Watching it live i thought the ref saved Fury by starting the count and should have let it go on.

Watching it back today, the ref did save Fury, but rightly so, he was going down, the ropes held him up, the ref was right to start the count.

No way should it have been stopped. I get Fury was in a bad way, but not enough to wave it off their and then.

In hindsight, very good job from the ref.

I agree, I'm not sure why anybody sees controversy here, it's all in the rules, if the ropes prevent a fighter going down, it's a knockdown and the ref can issue a count, to see if the fighter is in a position to continue.

If there had been another 10 second left in the round, Usyk would have smashed him unconcious.

I am glad it wasn't stopped, Fury recovered and saw out the fight.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Clear stoppage.

Based on what?

He was knocked out on his feet and got battered from pillar to post.

Yes, but had he gone down, (if the ropes hadn't broken his fall), he would have been given a count and time to recover, and then the round would have ended anyway.

[smiling assassin]

Either call would have been justified.

This

[Ricky]

Based on what?

He was knocked out on his feet and got battered from pillar to post.

Yes, but had he gone down, (if the ropes hadn't broken his fall), he would have been given a count and time to recover, and then the round would have ended anyway.

The rule about the ropes keeping someone up is utter garbage and needs binned. The ref used it as an excuse not to stop it, he could've stopped that fight when any of those clean shots went in during that sequence.

[Controversial]

In hindsight the right call but plenty of fighters have been stopped on their feet without going down. Fury looked out of it, his arms were down and he was being punched across the ring. If the ref did stop it I'm not sure there would've been an outcry. Just goes to show how fine the margins can be in boxing sometimes.

[Ricky]

He was also in no position to continue even after the count. Fury got a standing 8 AND was saved by the bell, neither should be permitted in the rules.

[Coco]

He was knocked out on his feet and got battered from pillar to post.

Yes, but had he gone down, (if the ropes hadn't broken his fall), he would have been given a count and time to recover, and then the round would have ended anyway.

The rule about the ropes keeping someone up is utter garbage and needs binned. The ref used it as an excuse not to stop it, he could've stopped that fight when any of those clean shots went in during that sequence.

Agree with this, Fury couldn't defend himself, the standing count saved him.

I'm glad Usyk got the decision, because if he had lost on points after that, it would have stunk.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Had he stopped it, it would have been controversial.

We all know Fury has good recovery skills.

He even showed it.

But glad the right man won. Should have been UD.

[Coco]

Had he stopped it, it would have been controversial.

We all know Fury has good recovery skills.

He even showed it.

But glad the right man won. Should have been UD.

It's one thing stopping it after a count, but Fury was sliding helplessly along the ropes, taking unanswered shots with his hands down, the real question is how the hell wasn't it stopped?
The standing count was a complete lifeboat

[jamesmcdonnell]

He was knocked out on his feet and got battered from pillar to post.

Yes, but had he gone down, (if the ropes hadn't broken his fall), he would have been given a count and time to recover, and then the round would have ended anyway.

The rule about the ropes keeping someone up is utter garbage and needs binned. The ref used it as an excuse not to stop it, he could've stopped that fight when any of those clean shots went in during that sequence.

So you agree it's in the rules?

Should the referee have made a unilateral decision to cancel the rule?

He could have stopped the fight yes, but that is the referee's decision, it's for the undisputed heavyweight championship - the refere is meant to give fighters and opportunity to recover.

The reason the rule about the ropes exists, is that if a fighter hits the canvas, they are given 10 seconds to rise and recover.

If a fighter ends up on the ropes, in a position where they aren't able to defend themselves, they are a sitting duck, so it makes sense to treat it as a knockdown, and the issue a count. Otherwise you end up in the situation we used to see in fights in the 50's and 60's, where a fighter is pretty much unconscious, being absolute mullered whilst sagging into the ropes.

It's a perfectly sensible rule. Had tyson not fallen into the ropes, then he would have hit the deck, and then been given a count.

You could argue though, that he fell into the ropes several times, and it should have been called earler - but then the speed at which things were happening, it's very hard to make that call - and if anything, it would have given Fury more time to recover.

[forcefraser]

It was shellacking but perhaps not a monstrous shellacking.

He took some clean and his legs were toast, but he wasn't taking a barrage of heavy hits Morrison v Mercer style

[Lenny Cravats]

I'm unsure. I haven't replayed it, but it looked to me that Fury was using the ropes to keep himself up, rather than the ropes keeping him up, if you know what I mean.

I'd've stopped it. Fury wasn't in a position to defend himself and needed an intervention to save him.

Either way, it's a judgement call by the ref and I think he handled it reasonable well.

[ALI]

Is the whole point of a count not to give the downed fighter a chance to recover, before letting them fight on?

I never want to see any fighter take unneccessary shots, late stoppages can be very dangerous, but i also hate early stoppages, especially in massive events like this when everything is at stake. Usyk was not beating him up prior to landing his volley of shots, sure Fury was very hurt and would have gone down if not for the ropes, but its a fight ffs, the count is there for a reason, the ref used it exactly as he should have done, Fury got his chance to recover, and as he has shown several times before, he recoved well and went on to see out the fight well enough, proving the ref made the correct call. No controversy here at all.

Ultimately an excellent job by the ref, top marks from me. And great to see the judges getting it just right for once. Usyk just edged it in my book, so a split decision is quite fitting. Also sets the rematch up nicely.

Interesting for me was Fury saying post fight his corner was telling him he was ahead on the cards going into the 11th and 12th rounds. Thats poor from them. If they had told him he needed to win those rounds, maybe, just maybe, he would have done more to try and bag them? Very debatable. Either way thats terrible corner advice and may have lost him this fight. I'd be livid if in his shoes.

[jamesmcdonnell]

He was also in no position to continue even after the count. Fury got a standing 8 AND was saved by the bell, neither should be permitted in the rules.

I am afraid though they are in the rules.

The round ended, when that happens, a fighter is allowed to return to their corner. Are you suggesting the ref should have stopped it in the corner?
I don't really understand why people have a problem with it.