Boxing’s integrity was already on a knife edge with ignoring drug testing fails and shady dealings, but referee Tony Weeks may have completely finished it.
Weeks made a startling claim on Facebook that Fredrick Lawson was flagged for a brain aneurysm, not once but TWICE before he clashed with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
The official then says instead of calling off the fight or drafting in a replacement, Golden Boy Promotions got a second opinion from a new doctor.
Lawson was checked again and cleared by the switch-up medical professional, and the fight went ahead.
Tony Weeks makes brain aneurysm claim
Explaining what happened in a since-deleted post after taking massive criticism over the stoppage, Weeks said: “What the public didn’t know was that before the fight, they did a brain scan on him.
“It came up that he had an aneurysm. They did a test again, and the same aneurysm came up. Another doctor was brought in and gave him the same examination. He tested negative for the aneurysm, so they cleared him to fight.”
The fact the two brain aneurysms were flagged, and not enough to end the contest is not the end of it, though. Weeks stopped the fight without a solid punch being thrown due to knowledge of that situation.
In two instances, boxing’s integrity is severely destroyed. If those kinds of practices go on behind closed doors, the sport should pack up now and go home.
The medical checks being ignored endangered a fighter’s life, for one. Secondly, thousands of fans paid money for an event that would never be competitive from the outset.
Weeks protected Fredrick Lawson
Weeks was solely in the ring to protect Lawson and get him out of there as soon as possible. The Golden Boy show is then a sham, and refunds should be one hundred percent given.
Lawson should have been pulled, the fight never should have happened, and he needed to be sent for extensive tests to ensure he was in no danger.
If Weeks didn’t have prior knowledge of Lawson’s two-time diagnosis, the whole charade could have been a lot worse.
Golden Boy released a weak statement on the matter. All they did was deflect the blame to the Nevada State Atheltic Commission.
“Fredrick Lawson was cleared by a Nevada State Athletic Commission and a sanctioned doctor to fight on Saturday night. All other questions should be referred to NSAC.”
This whole incident is not going away anytime soon.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay.
