Peter Fury has revealed he confronted referee Mark Lyson on a flight home from Egypt following Oleksandr Usyk’s controversial stoppage win over Rico Verhoeven — and says the official admitted he “didn’t hear the bell”.
The dramatic ending to Saturday night’s crossover heavyweight clash has dominated discussion ever since Lyson waved the contest off in the closing moments of the 11th round.
Usyk had Verhoeven under heavy pressure after a barrage of punches forced the Dutch kickboxing icon into survival mode near the ropes. But confusion instantly spread around the arena when replays appeared to show the bell had already sounded before the stoppage was called.
Verhoeven, who had exceeded plenty of expectations with his performance against the unified heavyweight champion, was visibly frustrated after the fight and believed he should have been allowed to continue into the final round.
“I thought it was an early stoppage, but in the end, it’s not up to me,” Verhoeven said afterwards.
The controversy only intensified once the scorecards emerged.
Two judges reportedly had the fight level at 95-95 heading into the closing stages, while a third scorecard had Verhoeven narrowly ahead at 96-94 — adding even more weight to calls for a rematch and increasing scrutiny around the stoppage itself.
Now Peter Fury, who worked with Verhoeven during camp near Rotterdam ahead of the fight, has shared details of an “honest” exchange with referee Lyson after both men boarded the same flight home.
Speaking to iFL TV, Fury explained that he decided to approach the official directly rather than speculate from afar.
“The referee was on the flight with me on the way back. So I spoke to him. I went over, and the best way to sort any dispute is to go and ask him the question, isn’t it? To the person who’s done it,” Fury said.
“I said, ‘You’ve made a mistake’. And he said to me, which is very important, he said, ‘Peter, I didn’t hear the bell.’ I said, ‘Well, now that I believe, because I didn’t hear the bell either’. I didn’t hear the bell. I thought it was like two seconds before.”
Fury admitted that even from ringside, the timing of the bell wasn’t obvious in the moment because of the intensity of the action unfolding in front of him.
“I was only going off what people were telling me around the ring. I’m more focused on the fight itself.”
Rather than accusing the referee of wrongdoing, Fury instead described the incident as a genuine mistake made in the chaos of a high-pressure finish.
Fury said: “But this is what it was, so I think, look, obviously it’s in the heat of the moment. Rico’s gone down. Usyk has gone to finish it. But obviously, he (the referee) is behind Usyk. He hasn’t really seen, but there’s been no punches landed.
“So yes, it’s a mistake. And I’m going to call it a genuine mistake. That’s all I can say, because I can’t accuse a fellow of anything else. That’s ridiculous. There’s no facts there. And after me speaking with him, he said it, and he said it honestly. He said, ‘I never heard the bell.’”
“I take that as right, because I didn’t hear the bell either. But look, I thought we’d seen an excellent fight,” added Fury.
Despite the controversial ending, Fury was also quick to praise both fighters for delivering what many viewed as a surprisingly competitive contest.
Before the bout, plenty questioned whether Verhoeven — widely regarded as one of kickboxing’s greatest heavyweights — could cope with the pace, movement and experience of a fighter of Usyk’s calibre over championship rounds.
Instead, the Dutchman stayed competitive deep into the fight and appeared to earn genuine respect from sections of the boxing world who had expected a one-sided night.
Fury believes that performance alone warrants another opportunity.
Featured image credit: X/DAZN / iFL TV / YouTube (screenshots)
