Coach: Referee admitted making mistake in Rico Verhoeven’s controversial loss

Referee Mark Lyson allegedly admitted to making a mistake in Rico Verhoeven’s controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Lyson was the third man inside the ring when Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. A massive underdog, Verhoeven landed the more significant strikes for the most part. Verhoeven appeared to be on the way to a monumental upset win when Usyk dropped him late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk backed him up with a barrage of unanswered shots. Lyson abruptly stepped in and called a stop to the contest with officially a second left in the 11th round. 

If the official stoppage wasn’t already controversial enough, some rumors suggest that Lyson stopped the bout after the bell went off. The make matters worse, there was no fight clock for viewers on the live broadcast. Verhoeven’s coach Peter Fury claims Lyson was travelling with him on the same flight back home. When Fury confronted Lyson about the stoppage, the referee allegedly admitted that he didn’t hear the bell go off. Fury credits Lyson for admitting his mistake, and they ended things by shaking hands.

A Confession and a Handshake

“The referee was on the flight with me on the way back,” Fury told