Vergil Ortiz Jr gets puzzling stoppage over Fredrick Lawson by referee Tony Weeks

It was meant to be a great moment. Vergil Ortiz is a hard puncher, knocking out everyone that he has faced. Fredrick Lawson is a wily point scorer. Banger vs boxer. And while the expectation was that Ortiz would get Lawson out of there, nobody imagined that it would be done the way it turned out.

It would be a stretch to refer to this as a robbery. Lawson was not likely to be able to stay in the fight with Ortiz for a full 12 rounds. But in the sense that the fans paid good money to see a competitive fight, then perhaps it was a robbery of sorts. And the fans are the victims. The perpetrator? Referee Tony Weeks. Again.

Weeks is getting something of a reputation for this kind of thing, having stopped the fight between Romero and Barroso in the ninth round because he believed the 40-year-old Barroso was taking unnecessary punishment. Fans disagreed. Barroso disagreed. Even Romero disagreed.

The moment in tonight’s bout came with a minute to go in the first round, when Ortiz landed a right hand behind Lawson’s ear, staggering Lawson momentarily and encouraging Ortiz to jump in and throw a flurry of shots. Lawson looked to be in the process of composing himself, covering up nicely and blocking most of what came his way, leaning on the ropes and weathering the storm.

But he would never be allowed to see if he could work his way through this crisis. Weeks decided that he had seen enough and stepped in. The crowd erupted in loud boos. Lawson protested, as did his corner.

This happens in boxing all the time. Fighters are momentarily wobbled. Particularly if the shot lands on or near the ear, the center of the body’s balance system. They cover up, protect themselves, weather the storm and get their wits back about them. Survive to fight another day.

What makes this stoppage all the more galling is the fact that this is coming from Tony Weeks, a supremely experienced referee. And, I hasten to add, a very good referee. With 30 years experience, he has presided over some of the biggest, and best fights of recent memory.

But this, I am afraid to say, Tony, is a blemish on your record. You are better than this.

Now, in fairness to Weeks, he said after the fight that he saw Lawson’s eyes roll back when he was on the ropes. With no standing eight count in effect, he had no choice but to stop the fight. Who can say what really happened?

Vergil Ortiz is definitely back and boxing will be better for it. But this is a bitter pill to swallow and not at all the way that anyone wanted to see him return.