Jack Reiss’ decision to let Tyson Fury continue was immediately vindicated.
Less than a minute after he looked to be unconscious, Fury was back showboating with his hands behind his back and saw out the 12 rounds against Deontay Wilder.
At a hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning, Fury explained how he didn’t want to rush to his feet because so many fighters end up on wobbly legs if they don’t take the time to properly compose themselves after being knocked down.
Before praising the referee, Fury revealed how he took a deep breath and slowly climbed back to his feet after a brutal Wilder knockdown in the final round of their WBC heavyweight title fight.
Wilder might want to ignore his replies… https://t.co/OuJf2fN7Gj
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 5, 2018
‘The Gypsy King’ explained how Reiss had told both fighters before the bout that they would be given every chance to prove that they could keep fighting and while a less experienced referee would have waved the fight off at the sight of Fury laying motionless on his back for a couple of seconds, Reiss stayed true to his promise and let Fury prove him right.
“If there was earlier, heavy damage and he had been hurt or if there was a history in the fight that he was really getting knocked around and then he fell like that and hit his head, I would have waved it off,” Reiss told Sirius XM Boxing Radio.
Referee @2jackreiss on why he didn't immediately stop the fight after Deontay Wilder's brutal knockdown of Tyson Fury in round 12.@CommishRandyG @gerrycooney #boxing #WilderFury pic.twitter.com/eu9VwcKpmg
— SiriusXM Boxing (@SiriusXMBoxing) December 4, 2018
“But the fight was so close. The magnitude of the fight, being a heavyweight championship fight, I’ve always been taught to count a champion out
“I wanted to give him every opportunity so I took my time. Not that I stalled the count like these knuckleheads are saying.
“I was just patient and I went down to make sure what I was doing was correct because I want to do what’s best for boxing.”
