Ever since the initial Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury fight was ruled a controversial split draw in December 2018, “The Bronze Bomber” has continued to contend that he was cheated out of a victory because of a delayed ring count.
There’s no disputing that Fury outboxed Wilder. However, Wilder’s 12 -round knockdown of the “Gypsy King” was arguably handled with a delayed ring count from referee Jack Reiss, costing the WBC heavyweight champion a KO.
With Wilder’s point of contention continuing to rear its head throughout the buildup toward the highly anticipated Wilder vs. Fury rematch Saturday, Feb. 22, DAZN News sought out the expert opinion of International Boxing Hall of Fame referee Steve Smoger, who also does live on-air analysis for DAZN.
After watching the first Wilder-Fury fight, Smoger doesn’t think Reiss registered a delayed ring count at all.
“No, I didn’t (think Reiss' ring count was delayed). It’s not 10 seconds. It’s a 10-count that may vary ref to ref,” Smoger explained. “I thought Jack did an outstanding job in that my mantra has been let the fighters decide the fight. So, (Fury) made that bold move to get up, and Jack was proven right because (Fury) completed the fight. If he was that hurt, Wilder may have finished him.”
Smoger, who has officiated more than 1,000 boxing bouts in 36 years on the job, walked us through the mental checklist that Reiss was likely processing during the very moment that Wilder unleashed that vicious right hook-left hook combination that dropped Fury with a thud.
“As you’re implementing your count, you see the fighter making every effort,” Smoger said. “(Fury) appeared to be lucid, it looked like Jack made eye contact, and I thought he did an outstanding job. I didn’t see any problem in that regard.”
To those points, during a recent interview with BT Sport Boxing, Reiss spoke about the keen observation he made of Fury’s right foot raised slightly off the canvas, which to him signaled consciousness. As Reiss got closer, he noticed Fury opened his eyes and shot him a glare to let the official know that he was that much more aware of the moment. For good measure, Reiss made Fury walk precautionary steps before allowing him to continue.
Smoger says that kind of referee savvy could be overlooked by fight fans, adding that he would have even dragged out the count.
“On my end, you may drag the nine. Eight , niiiiiine . You see he’s making an effort,” Smoger said. “The public may think that it has to be too stringent. It varies ref to ref. I would have done the same thing. You want to see the fighters decide the fight.”
Smoger believes that Reiss’ ring count was vindicated by Fury not only miraculously getting up, but how he finished the round, arguably getting the better of Wilder over the final two minutes.
“You’re then substantiated because he outboxed him from that point on,” Smoger said. “It proved Jack right for allowing him to continue. (Fury) had his wits about him. He wasn’t wobbly. He made a tremendous recovery.
“How did he look after the knockdown? He looked fine! All of that comes into play.”
When asked how he’d officiate the rematch if he were the third man in the ring, Smoger once again points to his mantra of letting the fighters decide the fight. That being said, he would store valuable data about each champion's resiliency into his memory.
“In the instance of Fury, he absorbed that cut and went forward,” Smoger said, referring to Fury's horrific gash over his right eye that required 47 stitches to close in his harder-than-expected unanimous decision over Otto Wallin last September.
“He coagulated pretty good. That was a horrendous cut. So, that goes into my memory bank.”
Regarding Wilder’s resiliency, Smoger added: “I know Wilder’s resilience from his first time out with Luis Ortiz. He was in serious trouble, serious trouble .”
That’s in reference to the seventh round from hell that Wilder endured only to bounce back and score a 10 -round TKO of Ortiz back in March 2018.
“I would have already studied Wilder and Fury,” Smoger said when asked how he'd handle officiating their rematch Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “Can they take a shot? What are their proclivities when they get hurt? Do they have resilience? Everything about the fighter.
“You establish your authority in the dressing room pre-fight,” Smoger added. “Then it’s ‘You fight, I ref,’ and that’s the way it goes.”