I agree 100 percent, the fight should have been stop. Either let the guy finish him up or stop the fight to stop any more additional punishment. The referee didn't do either one and instead he gave it a really slow count down.

I haven't seen the fight yet, but I'm looking. Forward to seeing it in the next. Few days so I can better put the whole 9th. Round into. Context.

The moment fury went back & leaned on the ropes it's an indicator his legs weren't steady & he required them to stabilise & stay on his feet. If the ref wanted to use the 8 count then it was that moment. But nope he lets fury go as long as possible taking a proper pasting like something out the 70's & kept getting in the way of Usyk and the then moment fury was going fully and Usyk was drawing back for a full power shot the ref then steps in and gives fury the 8 count to save him and draws it out close to 20 seconds to get fury to the bell. That is playing favourites flat out. If Usyk was that hurt it would of been stopped instantly. Letting fury go so long hurt then you would of thought the ref was going to let it play out to the end but na he just let fury go as long as he could so when he saved him it wasn't that long until the end of the round.

Fighter is held up by the ropes. It's a knockdown. There's no standing 8 count. He did eventually call the knockdown. He couldn't done that earlier if he wanted to help Fury out.

Here's why it's the right call: if Usyk tagged him again and killed him, bloodthirsty fight fans would be standing in the corner with a dunce cap on, along with shame and bad karma. If they stopped the fight, the crowd as well as Fury and his fans would have been pissed (even if it possibly saved him from death or brain damage, no one has a crystal ball and no one wants to admit such things anyway especially in the fight game) And finally, it didn't change the outcome of the match re W - L, and as much whining as everyone likes to do, it will only make the rematch earn more money for both fighters. I believe the standing 8 count is for precisely this reason, a way for the ref to prevent a fighter from being maimed or killed, while at the same time checking the pulse of the fighter to see if the event can be allowed to continue (8 count and continuing is superior to a controversial stoppage imo). If the ref has integrity, it's a way for a ref who is "not sure" to err on the side of caution. It's open to corruption but lives are more important, and it didn't save Fury from defeat either if you truly believe the ref was corrupt. Saved Fury from being knocked out? Is that a fact? Because, the fight didn't end there, and he wasn't knocked out in that round or the rest of the match. Don't say with certainty something you can't possibly know, I'm not at all convinced personally. And I'm Ukranian American.

The referee took his time to count the Gypsy fake king… corruption at all levels. Saudi Arabia has ruined boxing. The same goes goes with Qatar that ruined football. It has become a money circus joke.

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