Juan Manuel Márquez waded into the Tony Weeks controversy as the Las Vegas official continues to face questions about the walkouts.
Two high-profile fights ended within weeks in the past eight months, sparking fierce opposition to the official taking charge of another fight.
Weeks defended his recent actions during the fight between Vergil Ortiz and Fredrick Lawson when he ended the fight in the first round without landing a serious punch.
“What the public didn’t know is that before the fight they did a brain scan on him. [Lawson]. It turned out she had an aneurysm,” Weeks said. “They did the test again and the same aneurysm came out. They brought in another doctor and did the same exam. The aneurysm test was negative, so he was authorized to fight.”
Marquez believes Weeks is fit, however, on the premature stops front. The Mexican legend says that Weeks tried something similar when he fought Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather vs Marquez
“When Tony Weeks did his job when I was fighting Mayweather, in each of the rounds, he told me: ‘Should I stop the fight? Do I stop the fight?’” Marquez told ProBox TV.
“I told Nacho [Beristain, my trainer]: ‘Hey, is he hitting me too hard or what? Or is it affecting me too much? So, the referee went to the corner and told me in each round if I should stop the fight.”
He continued: “I asked [my trainer] because [the pressure in every round]? He is [Mayweather] He’s not even hitting me. It’s not hitting me hard [at all].
“As [Weeks] Is the fight going to stop?
“In some ways, he was putting pressure on me. Maybe he thought I would quit the fight so Mayweather could win by knockout.
“We never gave him that chance because we never gave up. We’re always looking for a way to land blows. [not to give him an excuse to stop it].”
Tony Weeks
Mayweather vs. Marquez ended up with a decision in favor of Floyd in 2009. However, the fight was closer than the scorecards suggested.
As for Weeks, his career has continued for another fifteen years with little controversy until recent years. The once highly respected referee has likely finished his tenure, certainly in Las Vegas, following his bombshell attack against the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Golden Boy Promotions.
Weeks is unlikely to officiate again in Nevada, bringing the curtain down on a career spanning nearly 900 fights.
Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Threads.
