‘Corruption’ could have been behind controversial call in Fury-Wilder fight

A commentator believes a referee’s controversial call in the Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder fight might have had sinister intentions.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 09: Tyson Fury reacts after he was knocked down by Deontay Wilder in the fourth round of their WBC heavyweight title fight at T-Mobile Arena on October 9, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fury retained his title with an 11th-round knockout. Fury retained his title with an 11th-round knockout. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes Tyson Fury benefited from a ‘long count’ in his trilogy bout victory over Deontay Wilder.

The “Gypsy King” floored the “Bronze Bomber” three times during their epic encounter last week with the Brit star knocking out his rival in the 11th round.

Watch Tim Tszyu vs Takeshi Inoue LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo and Foxtel, Wednesday 17th November from 7pm AEDT. ORDER NOW >

Fury was himself dropped twice by the Alabama native in the fourth round, with fans believing the referee gave him a slow count after he hit the deck the second time.

Even ex-UFC ace Daniel Cormier stated the unbeaten Englishman was given too much time to recover.

Discussing the incident on an episode of his podcast the Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan said he believes it was either an “error” from referee Russell Mora or “corruption”.

But footage has proved that it was Wilder’s fault after he was told to go back to a neutral corner by Mora, which caused him to stop counting.

Rogan said: “This is what happened. The referee is supposed to go, ‘One two…’ when the guy goes down.

The referee has been criticised for giving Tyson Fury longer than allowed to get up after being knocked down. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

“But if for any reason he has to interrupt the count … you’re supposed to pick up the count where the ringside counter has it.

“So there’s a guy who’s counting ringside, and he’ll keep the count going,

“So if you’re at ‘One, two,’ and then you’re like ‘Go to a neutral corner,’ that guy is supposed to be like ‘three, four, five,’ but he didn’t.

“He went back to it, ‘three, four,’ but the guy had already been down for a couple seconds.

“Without a doubt it was a long count. I think it’s an error, or corruption. Most likely an error, most likely the guy’s (the referee) panicking.”

Rogan also stated that he believes the dramatic heavyweight clash is one of the best dust-ups he has ever seen.

He remarked: “It was one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time. One of the greatest boxing matches of all time.

“It was so crazy, it was so action filled. I mean, it was f***ing amazing. From Tyson Fury knocking Wilder down early, to Wilder looking like he was done.

Tyson Fury somehow got to his feet after being knocked down by Deontay Wilder twice. Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

“There’s maybe one or two other humans that have ever lived that can punch as hard as (Wilder).

“He’s without a doubt one of the hardest punchers of all time. He’s a murderous puncher, but the level of skill was so evident.

“The difference is Tyson Fury is a masterful boxer, he’s masterful. The s*** that he did was amazing, and his strategy was amazing.

“Just stay glued to Deontay, wear on him, hang on him, make him work, and just drag him deeper and deeper into these f***ing horrible waters filled with crocodiles.

“That’s what he did, and almost got knocked out doing it. That’s how dangerous Wilder is.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been republished with permission.

Originally published as ‘Corruption’ could have been behind controversial call in Fury-Wilder fight