Boxing referee Tony Weeks faces termination from his position as a Nevada official following his bombshell revelation over the weekend.
After facing a barrage of abuse over the stoppage of Fredrick Lawson in the fight with Vergil Ortiz in Las Vegas, Weeks hit back.
“What the public didn’t know was that before the fight, they did a brain scan on him [Lawson]. It came up that he had an aneurysm,” said Weeks following his decision to end the contest in the first round with no solid punches yet thrown.
“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.”
Golden Boy reacted by releasing the shortest of statements denying Weeks’ claims. However, it was too late to save the sport from earthquake-sized tremors.
The integrity of boxing was questioned alongside the promoter’s regard for fighter safety.
NSAC statement on boxing referee Tony Weeks
Weeks now looks set to be stood down as a referee in the State if you read between the lines of a Nevada State Athletic Commission statement.
“On January 6, 2024, a contest was held between Vergil Ortiz and Fredick Lawson in Las Vegas, Nevada. The contest was under the jurisdiction of the Nevada State Athletic Commission,” they said.
“The health and safety of the unarmed combatants that compete in the State are paramount to the Commission.
“All contestants in the event were subject to full medical examinations and were cleared by medical experts to compete without restrictions.
“The Commission and its Executive Director will continue its ongoing practice of reviewing its official’s performance during and after an event.”
Pandora’s box
Deleting the claim may not be enough to save Weeks’ job. However, the pandora’s box is open regarding how often this kind of thing may have happened.
A plethora of questionable stoppages could be under review, if not by the NSAC but by the online boxing media and social media.
How many referees, if any, had prior knowledge of a potential injury to an opponent? And how often did this come into play when referees stepped in to stop a fight?
Boxing has enough problems without knowing what really goes on behind closed doors. Golden Boy faces an uphill task to convince some people that Weeks was merely attempting to deflect the blame from himself.
The saga continues.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
