Hearn criticized the referee’s decision after the controversial ending to Usyk’s heavyweight fight in Egypt

Eddie Hearn believes Rico Verhoeven was ahead on the scorecards before the controversial stoppage in Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight win Saturday night in Egypt. The Matchroom promoter said the referee stepped in too quickly despite Verhoeven remaining competitive late in the fight.

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One judge reportedly had Verhoeven ahead 96-94 entering the 11th, while the other two cards were even at 95-95.

“I had Rico up in the fight, going into that 11th round. I thought it was a poor stoppage,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV.

“I know you can never think about how long is left in the round, but what was there, a couple of seconds left in the round?

“I think when you’re up in the fight, or you’re that competitive, the referee can’t stop a fight when he’s not taking any serious punishment, even though the knockdown was heavy.”

Usyk dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut in the 11th round and followed up with a barrage after he got back to his feet. Lyson stepped in just as the bell sounded, creating immediate debate about whether the fight should have been allowed to continue into the 12th.

The reaction afterward centered almost entirely on the timing of the stoppage and how competitive the fight had become. Verhoeven had success early by forcing exchanges and backing Usyk into a type of fight that many fans had never seen him in before at heavyweight.

The competitive nature of the fight immediately created debate about Usyk’s current level at heavyweight.