Peter Fury details conversation with referee on flight home that changes everything about Usyk vs Verhoeven

Peter Fury was on the same flight as referee Mark Lyson following Oleksandr Usyk's win over Rico Verhoeven – and he has since revealed the "honest" conversation they had that changes everything.

Fury, who helped kickboxing legend Verhoeven prepare for Usyk at a camp near Rotterdam, has urged the unified heavyweight champion to take a rematch after the bout ended with a much-talked-about stoppage.

For those unaware, referee Lyson called the fight off, just moments after the bell rang at the end of the 11th round following an onslaught of heavy punches from Usyk.

Verhoeven believes he should have been given the chance to go into the final round after such a positive showing. "I thought it was an early stoppage, but in the end, it's not up to me," he said after Saturday's contest in Egypt.

It later emerged that two of the judges' scorecards had it even at 95-95, while the third had it 96-94 in favour of Verhoeven, who is reportedly planning to appeal the controversial stoppage loss.

Usyk defended his WBC heavyweight title, but it was hardly convincing. Image credit: Getty

Peter Fury says referee admitted that he didn’t hear the bell

Speaking to YouTube channel iFL TV on Monday, Fury said he bumped into referee Mark Lyson on his flight home from Egypt, and they spoke about the moment that continues to be a huge talking point.

According to Fury, the referee admitted that he didn’t hear the bell before stopping the contest.

"The referee was on the flight with me on the way back. So I spoke to him. I went over, and the best way to sort any dispute is to go and ask him the question, isn't it? To the person who's done it," he began.

"I said, 'You've made a mistake'. And he said to me, which is very important, he said, 'Peter, I didn't hear the bell.' I said, 'Well, now that I believe, because I didn't hear the bell either'. I didn't hear the bell. I thought it was like two seconds before.

"I was only going off what people were telling me around the ring. I'm more focused on the fight itself.

"But this is what it was, so I think, look, obviously it's in the heat of the moment. Rico's gone down. Usyk has gone to finish it. But obviously, he (the referee) is behind Usyk. He hasn't really seen, but there's been no punches landed.

"So yes, it's a mistake. And I'm going to call it a genuine mistake. That's all I can say, because I can't accuse a fellow of anything else. That's ridiculous. There's no facts there. And after me speaking with him, he said it, and he said it honestly. He said, 'I never heard the bell.'

"I take that as right, because I didn't hear the bell either. But look, I thought we'd seen an excellent fight," added Fury.

As mentioned above, Fury has called for a rematch between Usyk and Verhoeven.

"I think the stoppage was early but at the end of the day he [Verhoeven] was tired, he was fatigued, it was the 11th round. Could have made the 12? Probably not. But the stoppage was premature," Fury told DAZN.

"I'm about respect. Respect your opponent. I'm not into all the slapping s---. Usyk's got the win, full congratulations to him.

"But I think they should ... I think Oleksandr will run it back because he'll look at it, you know, let's run it back. The guy [Verhoeven] deserves another shot because look what's happened here. A little bit more experience. It's the first time he's ever, ever gone past five rounds."