Boxing analyst Teddy Atlas says the referee would have stopped last Saturday's fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in the ninth round had it not been for the Gypsy King who was injured.
Fortunately, the referee's failure to stop the match did not change the outcome of the match. If Fury had won because the referee didn't stop the fight, there would have been a huge backlash.
Attas was pleased that referee Mark Nelson did not stop Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) and gave him a standing eight count. Because it allowed both fighters to show off their greatness.
What Atlas didn't say is whether fellow referee Mark Nelson would have stopped the fight and given a standing eight count if it had been Usyk who got injured in the ninth round. Would he have acted like that? Since Usyk is not as popular as Fury, will that be factored into the referee's decision on whether to save him or not, similar to Tyson?
But neither fighter was particularly spectacular in the final three rounds. Usyk looked tired and was unable to chase and finish Fury in rounds 10, 11 and 12. As for Fury, he couldn't score anything in the last three rounds and looked tired and old.
Atlas said Usyk intentionally slowed down Fury when he was one punch away from being knocked out in the ninth round, rather than Usyk choosing to slow down and not go for the KO. That's what I'm thinking. I disagree. As I watched the replay, Usyk was preparing to throw the final KO shot. The referee shouldered past Fury, stopping him from trying to finish him off.
It looked strange and completely out of place with the normal course of battle. The only thing I can think of is that the referee saw Fury in dire straits and stepped in and gave him a standing eight. This is something you see in amateur matches, but not in professional matches.
In this case, the referee gave Fury a standing eight, but it was clear he was saving the old man.
Usyk's deliberate restraint
Boxing analyst Teddy Atlas spoke on his YouTube channel about how Oleksandr Usyk was trying to finish Tyson Fury in nine rounds after hurting him last Saturday night. .
“If Usyk lands that last blow on him, he won't be able to defend himself. He was like, [out on his feet]. He was going to fall under the attack with all his might. There are two things that saved him. The referee stepped in, but Usyk saved him.
“Usyk is a special guy. He slowed down. He could have thrown that punch. Nine out of 10 guys throw that punch, it's there before the referee gets there. He could have thrown a punch before the referee closed in, but he saw it and didn't do it.
“He slowed down and didn't throw, so the referee intervened. The referee could have stopped the fight. Any other fighter would have stopped it. He would have stopped it, but he… We did the right thing,” Atlas said of referee Mark Nelson.
