Teddy Atlas has offered his expert insight on the controversial ending between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven.
The closing stages of the heavyweight showdown between Usyk and Verhoeven has been a hot topic over the past 24 hours, with some of boxing’s biggest names weighing in with their views on how things unfolded.
It was an extremely underwhelming performance from Usyk, who, heading into the contest, was expected to deal with kickboxing legend Verhoeven with relative ease, though it certainly didn’t transpire that way.
As the fight entered the championship rounds, the Ukrainian was behind on a lot of people’s scorecards, but he managed to find the big shot he needed by dropping Verhoeven at the end of round 11.
The Dutchman got back to his feet, but as Usyk went in for the kill, referee Mark Lyson decided to stop the bout, which has caused a lot of controversy amongst a large number of boxing fans, especially as the bell appeared to ring before the stoppage occurred.
Well-respected analyst and trainer Atlas has revealed his thoughts on the matter, posting on social media to state that while he thinks Usyk may have got the knockout anyway, he thinks it was a poor decision from the referee.
“Yes terrible job by ref stopping fight after the bell, also horrible TV production not showing a clock. Usyk would have stopped him in 12th though.”
There have since been plenty of calls for a rematch between Usyk and Verhoeven, but it appears that the Ukrainian could now head into a long-awaited clash against WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel.
