Clip shows Wilder at fault for ref’s "slow" Fury count as he was in wrong corner

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Deontay Wilder fans can't blame the referee for the long eight-count of Tyson Fury in the early hours of Sunday morning.

In fact, those pointing fingers may want to direct them at the 'Bronze Bomber' himself for his actions in Las Vegas

In a thrilling heavyweight clash, the 'Gypsy King' was put on the canvas twice during a spectacular fourth round – but managed to recover on both occasions.

The British fighter duly recovered to dominate the latter stages of the fight, eventually sealing victory in the 11th after flooring Wilder for the third time in what was a thrilling heavyweight bout.

The second Fury knockdown has since caused something of a furore however, with referee Russell Mora slammed for what many felt was a slow eight-count before Fury staggered back to his feet.

Boxing legend Andre Ward was one high-profile figure to criticise the official, while MMA legend Daniel Cormier described it as "crazy slow."

However, video footage of the incident has seemingly vindicated the official. Mora, who has worked as both a boxing judge and a referee since 1997, can be seen beginning his count before stopping at five to order Wilder to a neutral corner.

Did Tyson Fury get lucky with a slow count? Let us know in the comments section.

According to the rules, set out by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports, the official was entirely correct to stop his count in order to issue his demands to the American.

The official wording for the rule is: "When a knockdown occurs, the downed boxer's opponent shall go to the furthest neutral corner and remain there while the count is being made.

"The referee may stop counting if the opponent fails to go to the neutral corner, and resume the count where he/she left off when the opponent reports to or returns to the neutral corner."

A clip posted by @GaddiusMaximus on Twitter seemed to emphasise the point, with eagle-eyed fan @Boozy09833242 commenting: "It doesn't matter anyway as the count doesn't start til Wilder is in a neutral corner and the ref counts what the ref counts."

@MurphsIaw added: "Fury got up based on the refs count. Ref got delayed because Wilder wasn't in his corner. If you know boxing, you'd know this is common."

Wilder, 35, had been given prior warning too. When he first put Fury down, Mora pointed to the corner which he should have gone to, but instead he ventured to his own corner, which delayed the count.

• Deontay Wilder
• Tyson Fury
• Boxing

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