Derek Chisora angrily asked the referee why Tyson Fury wasn’t counted out against Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury and Usyk’s historic clash for the undisputed titles went the full distance, with the Ukrainian getting the nod on the judges scorecards and being crowned the first four-belt king in heavyweight history.
Earlier in the fight, the ‘Gypsy King’ received a standing count after being pummelled to the ropes by Usyk, but he was able to recover and cling on until the end of the ninth period.
Many leading figures in the boxing world believe Fury was fortunate to not be stopped, as he looked extremely dazed and unable to throw back.
British heavyweight Chisora, who was ringside in the Middle East, confronted referee Mark Nelson who walked past him during an interview.
He shouted while grinning: “Hey ref, ref. You know that was the slowest count in boxing history, bro.
“You get your maths right bro, it’s one, two, three, four, five, six. It is what it is is.
“It doesn’t matter he got the win, but bro that was the slowest count in boxing history.”
The referee afforded Chisora a wry smile but did not engage with his claim, before being ushered away from the fan-favourite.
It ultimately did not deny Usyk the chance at undisputed glory, but frustrations may have crept to the fore if he had not received the judges’ verdict.
Nelson got to eight on the standing count, but the bell rang for the end of the ninth, and Fury’s supernatural powers of recovery saw him back, albeit stunned.
Usyk was not interested in discussing the close stoppage in his post-fight assessment, but others in the boxing world shared similar sentiments.
Former world champion David Haye believed Usyk would have been counted out had it been Fury who was piling on the pressure.
He said: “If Fury was doing that to Usyk it would have been stopped. The referee stopped him and his opportunity.
“Then gave him 20 seconds to completely recover. It looked really bad from ringside. Even Fury fans said, “thanks ref.”‘
Although Usyk himself was just delighted to have made history and conquer Fury in the mammoth occasion, his team shared a similar sentiment.
Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk said after the final bell: “I’m exhausted, of course I was backing Usyk all fight.
“No disrespect to the referee but I think he stopped a KO in the ninth but anyway it was a tremendous performance.
“It was unbelievable and I hope to see more in the rematch.”
Boxing WhatsApp channel
News Summary:
- Derek Chisora confronts Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk referee after ‘slowest count in boxing history’
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.