Joe Rogan isn’t one to mince words when it comes to officiating, whether that be in MMA or boxing. More specifically, Rogan doesn’t refrain from criticizing boxing officials overseeing big fights such as the recent Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder trilogy.
Combat sports fans worldwide, including Rogan, marveled at one of the greatest boxing fights of all time, as Fury defeated Wilder in a back-and-forth war. The fight was also massive for the legacies of both Fury and Wilder when both eventually leave the fight game.
Although many praised the contest, there was some head-turning when Fury was knocked down early in the fight. The referee appeared to give a delayed count and allowed Fury to recover a lot faster than Wilder did when he was knocked down later on.
Rogan broke down the situation during a recent podcast episode.
“The referee is supposed to go ‘One two…’ when the guy goes down, but if for any reason he has to interrupt the count, you’re supposed to pick up the count where the ringside counter has it,” Rogan said. “So there’s a guy who’s counting ringside, and he’ll keep the count going.”
“So if you’re at ‘One, two,’ and then you’re like ‘Go to a neutral corner,’ that guy is supposed to be like ‘three, four five,’ but he didn’t,” Rogan continued. “He went back to it, ‘three, four,’ but the guy had already been down for a couple of seconds. Without a doubt, it was a long count. I think it’s an error or corruption. Most likely an error, most likely the guy’s panicking.”
Joe Rogan is mostly known for his MMA commentary, but is also a big fan of boxing, including Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury
Rogan wasn’t the only major UFC personality to point out the ‘slow count’ controversy in Fury vs. Wilder 3. Former UFC champion and current commentator Daniel Cormier also noticed that the referee might have delayed his count when Fury fell to the canvas.
Rogan went on praise the work of both fighters for their efforts in the ring. Despite the controversy, Fury and Wilder will be remembered forever as two of the greatest in boxing history.
Do you agree with Joe Rogan that there was a slow count used during Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3?