Usyk-Verhoeven: Referee told commission he'd seen enough

The referee who stopped Oleksandr Usyk's May heavyweight title defence against Rico Verhoeven told boxing officials he made the decision to wave off the fight before the bell sounded to end the 11th round.

The Middle East Professional Boxing Commission dismissed Verhoeven's appeal of the TKO result, a ruling obtained by BBC Sport shows. Verhoeven had argued that Mark Lyson stopped the contest after the official bell, making the finish invalid.

Commission affirms referee authority despite timing discrepancy

The panel acknowledged a timing issue — official timekeeper Brad William's evidence suggested the wave-off came fractionally after the bell — but ruled that even if true, it amounted to a procedural matter, not grounds to overturn the call. The commission noted that referees hold full authority to stop fights at any point, with no distinction between stoppages during a round and those between rounds.

"I decided I wanted to stop the contest... I had already seen enough," Lyson told the commission, according to the ruling. The panel found he acted in good faith with fighter safety as the priority, the only standard under which they could reverse the outcome.

Verhoeven, 37, appeared on the verge of an upset in his second pro boxing bout when Usyk dropped him late in the 11th. The kickboxing legend beat the count, but a follow-up barrage prompted Lyson to step in. All three scorecards had the fight level or in Verhoeven's favour at the time of the stoppage — 95-95, 95-95, and 96-94. Medical evidence from Dr. Neil Scott confirmed Verhoeven was stable post-fight, which the commission said did not contradict Lyson's real-time assessment. Verhoeven has called for an immediate rematch.

Source: bbc.com