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LAS VEGAS – As the defending WBC heavyweight champion from a foreign country, England’s Tyson Fury could’ve fought for a panel of officials for his third fight with Alabama’s Deontay Wilder that doesn’t include three judges and a referee all from the United States.
Fury has no issue whatsoever, though, with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s choices for their 12-round fight Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. The NSAC assigned two judges from Nevada, Tim Cheatham and Dave Moretti, a judge from New Jersey, Steve Weisfeld, and veteran Nevada referee Russell Mora to work Fury-Wilder III.
The 33-year-old Fury is a native of Manchester, but he bought a house in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas, and resides there part-time.
“It’s good, because I’m a U.S. person,” Fury told BoxingScene.com. “I’m happy there’s only U.S. judges because this is my home here in Las Vegas. And, you know, from what I’ve found the U.S. boxing people are very, very fair people. I’ve never known them not to be. It’s usually the British that are the ones you get a robbery against. In my fight in Los Angeles with Wilder the first time, it was actually the British judge that went against me. It was Phil Edwards. He actually lives 20 minutes from my house.”
England’s Edwards scored the first Fury-Wilder fight 113-113 in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Canada’s Robert Tapper scored that 12-rounder 114-112 for Fury, who got up from a knockdown apiece in the ninth and 12th rounds.
California’s Alejandro Rochin scored that fight for Wilder, 115-111.
Moretti and Weisfeld also judged the Fury-Wilder rematch in February 2020. They both had Fury ahead 59-52 through six rounds in that scheduled 12-rounder at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The third judge of their rematch, Connecticut’s Glenn Feldman, had Fury in front 58-53 when the seventh round began.
Fury defeated Wilder by seventh-round technical knockout that night because Wilder’s former assistant trainer, Mark Breland, threw in the towel to prevent Wilder from absorbing unnecessary punishment. Fury floored Wilder once apiece in the third and fifth rounds of that one-sided bout.
Nevada veteran Kenny Bayless was the referee for their rematch, which rounded out the first of back-to-back all-American officiating crews for Fury’s second and third fights with Wilder.
“I could’ve opted to have any judges I wanted,” Fury said. “I’m happy with the American judges. They’re fine.”
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), who is listed as a 3-1 favorite, and Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) will headline an ESPN/FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event set to start at 9 p.m. EDT ($79.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.