Video: Referee blunder leads to controversial TKO win for Virgil Ortiz vs. Frederick Lawson
Referee Tony Weeks has become a boxing storyline for the wrong reasons once again.
Weeks was the official for the Virgil Oritz vs. Frederick Lawson boxing match on Saturday night in Las Vegas, which served as the first fight for Ortiz since August 2022. Ortiz would pick up a first-round TKO win over Lawson, but the stoppage seemed to be way too early — even including the play-by-play commentator asking after Weeks stopped the fight, ‘and that is it?’
Check out video of the stoppage below.
It didn't take @VergilOrtiz long to secure another stoppage #OrtizLawson pic.twitter.com/7Kt6PmnJNi
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 7, 2024
Ortiz looked to have had Lawson in trouble before throwing a barrage in the corner, although it certainly didn’t look like a lot of damage was being done before Weeks called the fight off.
Weeks, who is also a longtime judge of MMA fights and can be seen regularly scoring UFC bouts, has recently been under scrutiny for early stoppages, which includes one of the more controversial fight endings in recent memory during Rolando Romero’s TKO win over Ismael Barroso this past May.