Deontay Wilder made a rookie mistake in the fourth round of his heavyweight bout against Tyson Fury - and it ultimately gave his opponent more time to recover.
It was labelled as one of the more controversial moments in the fight.
Shortly after Wilder knocked Fury down for the second time with a clubbing blow in round four, referee Russell Mora was criticized for a slow count at five.
In fact, several big names in combat sports picked up on the incident, including the likes of super former middleweight boxer Andre Ward.
Advert
Former UFC fighter Daniel Cormier agreed with Ward, saying the count was "crazy" slow. "He isn't supposed to stop counting to tell Deontay to go to his corner," he added.
UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier also chipped in. "That was a slow count," he said. "We gotta fight!!"
Despite these complaints, referee Mora was just following the rules when he stopped his count at five because he was ordering Deontay Wilder to a neutral corner.
Advert
As you can see in the footage below, the official stopped his count to instruct the American fighter to move elsewhere; a rule created by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports.
The rules state: "When a knockdown occurs, the downed boxer's opponent shall go to the furthest neutral corner and remain there while the count is being made.
"The referee may stop counting if the opponent fails to go to the neutral corner, and resume the count where he/she left off when the opponent reports to or returns to the neutral corner."
Wilder, meanwhile, was the first to admit he wasn't at his best against The Gypsy King.
Advert
After the fight, he said: "'I did my best, but it wasn't good enough tonight. I'm not sure what happened. I know that in training he did certain things, and I also knew that he didn't come in at 277 pounds to be a ballet dancer.
"He came to lean on me, try to rough me up and he succeeded."
Thoughts on the footage?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Tyson Fury, referee, Deontay Wilder
