Boxing referee Tony Weeks under fire (again) for head-scratching stoppage in Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Fredrick Lawson fight

Tony Weeks was once a renowned referee in the world of boxing, but following two recent blunders many have been calling for him to retire.

Weeks was on duty for the significant return of an emerging young boxer. Vergil Ortiz Jr. had been out of action since August 2022. The promising undefeated fighter dealt with nasty COVID-19 bouts, as well as rhabdomyolysis, which led to his inactivity. Ortiz didn’t get much time to reacclimate himself to actual competition when he faced Fredrick Lawson on January 6, and while his handiwork played a role, it was Weeks who expedited the process, and most believe he had no business stopping the fight when he did.

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Tony Weeks Slammed For Yet Another Egregious Stoppage

Ortiz was pushing the pace in his bout with Lawson, as most expected. He had his opponent backing against the ropes, but Lawson was blocking, ducking, and looking to see if he could land something that would put a halt to Ortiz’s pressure. Weeks saw things quite differently, as he felt Ortiz was doing enough to warrant a stoppage.

Take a look at the fight ending:

It didn't take @VergilOrtiz long to secure another stoppage 💥#OrtizLawson pic.twitter.com/7Kt6PmnJNi

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 7, 2024

What are we doing here?

This isn’t even the first time within the span of a year where Weeks has found himself at the center of controversy. He also had a real doozy officiating a title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso back in May 2023. Barroso had dropped Rolly in the fight and was winning on all three judges’ scorecards before Weeks decided to stop the fight in the middle of an exchange in round nine, awarding Rolly the egregious TKO win.

Here’s how that stoppage looked:

WOW 👀

Referee Tony Weeks stops the fight and @SignUp4KOs scores a TKO victory over Barroso to become the new WBA Super Lightweight champ 🏆 #RomeroBarroso pic.twitter.com/SseQxDNoQu

— All the Smoke Boxing (@atsboxing) May 14, 2023

Boxing fans and pundits are getting tired of Tony Weeks, and they have spoken out. It’s clear what the general consensus is on how this should be handled.

Boxing community: “Tony Weeks stoppage of the Rolly vs Barroso fight might be the worst I’ve ever seen”

Tony Weeks 7 months later: pic.twitter.com/jj0bFwjyPj

— Nadim Haddad (@NadimElHaddad1) January 7, 2024

He's Baaack.. the king of premature stoppages Tony Weeks the worst referee in all of professional boxing!#TonyWeeksMustGo #OrtizLawson pic.twitter.com/Y99JSUKBs2

— Haymonites (@ego_biggest) January 7, 2024

Time for Tony Weeks to retire. He’s cooked.

— adam abramowitz (@snboxing) January 7, 2024

Tony weeks stoppage with rolly and barosso was the worst I’ve ever seen this is possibly the second. He is not fit for purpose as a referee. Either sheer incompetence or just out and out cheating. https://t.co/Q8ybuwq5jG

— Sam Jones (@mrsamjones88) January 7, 2024

I watched #OrtizJrLawson on my phone, then I watched it on TV. Same conclusion both times:

Tony Weeks needs to retire.

This and the Rolly-Barroso gaff are unforgiveable. These guys train their guts out for weeks/ months and then get ripped off by inept refs. Crazy! #boxing pic.twitter.com/XrbhzDXkqB

— Tom Gray (@Tom_Gray_Boxing) January 7, 2024

Tony Weeks refereed the best fight ever in Corrales-Castillo 1 & they took mammoth punishment & Corrales down 2x in rd 10 19 years ago. He didn't stop it. Then he stopped #OrtizLawson for no reason in rd 1. This was worse than Rolly-Barroso. Time to retire, respectfully. #boxing

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) January 7, 2024

I'm not being emotional or getting caught up in the moment but I think that is literally the worst stoppage I have ever seen in about 45 years of watching #boxing, including covering it for the last 24. #OrtizLawson

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) January 7, 2024

Ultra-quick stoppage by Tony Weeks – what was that? Vergil Ortiz buckled Fredrick Lawson with a jab and then flurried on the ropes as ref jumped in. Lots of booing in Vegas and not what Ortiz needed, either, as he could have used some more rounds in his first fight in 17 months.

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) January 7, 2024

Tony Weeks was also the ref in the premature stoppage last year between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. Hard to defend either stoppage.

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) January 7, 2024