Vergil Ortiz Jr.'s statement on early stoppage allegations against referee Tony Weeks in Fredrick Lawson fight

Vergil Ortiz Jr. believes that Tony Weeks saved Fredrick Lawson from a bad knockout.

The 25-year-old welterweight star returned to the ring in a high-profile DAZN main event over the weekend. There, Ortiz Jr. met Lawson, who was riding a two-fight winning streak.

In the end, the rising star scored the stoppage win over Lawson that he hoped for, just not in the way that he or anyone expected.

Controversial referee Tony Weeks was the one working Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Fredrick Lawson. Early in the contest, 'General Okunka' took a hard shot that had him wobbled. He backed up to the ropes, where Ortiz Jr. let up a combination that was largely blocked.

However, Weeks called off the contest, resulting in a first-round knockout win for Ortiz Jr. The stoppage was called one of the worst in recent memory, but the winner doesn't see an issue with it.

Speaking in a media scrum post-fight, Ortiz Jr. defended Weeks, stating (via Boxing Scene):

“I don’t think it was a bad stoppage. And as a fan, you’re gonna think so because you wanna see the knockout. Fans watch boxing to see knockouts, to see the ugly stuff. As a fighter who knew that it was like literally coming in the next few punches, and I was gonna find a way, I mean, he saved him from a bad knockout.”

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Tony Weeks releases statement after Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Fredrick Lawson stoppage

Tony Weeks has made a big claim after his controversial stoppage.

Quickly, many ripped apart the veteran referee. The stoppage was made worse by the fact that he officiated Rolando Romero vs. Ismael Barroso. That fight saw a knockout win by 'Rolly' but is considered one of the worst officiated fights in years.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, Weeks defended his stoppage of Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Fredrick Lawson. According to the referee, the latter had an aneurysm show up twice in his medical scan but was eventually cleared to fight.

In the now-deleted post, Weeks wrote:

“What the public didn’t know that prior to the fight they did a brain scan on him. [I]t came up that he had an aneurysm, and they did a test again and the same aneurysm came up. Another doctor was brought in and gave him the same examination and he tested negative for the aneurysm, so they cleared him to fight.”

As of now, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has yet to respond to his comments. However, Golden Boy Promotions released a brief statement directing requests to the aforementioned NSAC.