Veteran boxing referee Tony Weeks dropped on heck of a bombshell over the weekend.
On Saturday boxing returned with a bout between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Frederick Lawson, but the fight was stopped in the very first round, in what seemed like a wildly early and unnecessary stoppage.
After the fight, Weeks took to his official Facebook page to reveal some troubling information.
Tony Weeks just shared this on his Facebook account pic.twitter.com/ViLAJVOFr5
— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) January 8, 2024
“What the public didn’t know that prior to the fight they did a brain scan on him, and it came up that he had an aneurysm,” Weeks wrote. “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.”
The post has since been deleted.
If true, this could be a huge deal for boxing and a blight on the reputation of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
After the post was made, Golden Boy, the promoter, denied the claims that Weeks made.
Referee Tony Weeks with a remarkable claim on Facebook overnight to explain his premature stoppage of Vergil Ortiz vs Fredrick Lawson. Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions have responded with the below statement… pic.twitter.com/lO2XP5vZEE
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 8, 2024
Sources have told me that what referee Tony Weeks posted about Fredrick Lawson was incorrect. Lawson passed all required medical tests prior to his fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. Saturday at the Virgin in Las Vegas.
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) January 8, 2024
UPDATE
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has issued a formal response to the post by referee Tony Weeks after his stoppage of #OrtizLawson According to Weeks, Fredrick Lawson had recently received two results indicating a for brain aneurysm. #boxing pic.twitter.com/hIPrkTqWfT
— The Sportsnista (@TheSportsnista) January 8, 2024
NSAC has issued a statement claiming that "all in the event were subject to full medical examinations and were cleared by medical experts."