Hearn: «Referee Was Concerned About Fighters' Health»

Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn does not consider referee Mark Nelson's actions a mistake in the 9th round knockdown episode during the fight between Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) and Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs).

«I have no complaints about Mark Nelson's work. It seemed a bit slow to me, but in defense of the referee, he wasn’t aiming to restart the fight as quickly as possible, but was concerned about the fighter’s safety.

That’s why it took him some time to make the right decision, to see if Fury could continue. So, he didn’t rush,» said Hearn.

Usyk defeated Fury by decision. In the 9th round, Tyson was knocked down, and some experts and boxers believe that the Briton could have been pulled from the fight.