Ghanaian welterweight division contender Fredrick “General Okunka” Lawson suffered a controversial first round technical knockout against highly rated division contender Vergil Ortiz Jr and Lawson’s alleged medical condition was the reason behind it.
According to veteran boxing referee Tony Weeks, the 34 year old Ghanaian fighter was diagnosed with aneurysm twice in two separate scans before the fight but a third scan conducted by a third doctor came out negative and Lawson was cleared for the fight.
Aneurysm is a medical condition that causes bleeding inside the body and leads to death.
Lawson was heavily pummeled by Ortiz in the first round of their bout in Las Vegas this past weekend but Lawson didn’t look badly hurt only for Weeks to step in and wave the fight.
The shock stoppage proved very controversial as Weeks was subjected to calls for his retirement after making a similar controversial stoppage in Ismael Barroso’s loss to Rolando Romero.
However, Weeks responded to the calls by indicating that Lawson’s medical condition prompted the decision to step in earlier than expected.
It didn't take @VergilOrtiz long to secure another stoppage 💥#OrtizLawson pic.twitter.com/7Kt6PmnJNi
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 7, 2024
In Romero’s controversial win, Weeks explained that Barroso’s age (40) played a role in his decision considering a bout he refereed between Leavander Johnson and Jesus Chavez in 2005 ended up with Johnson passing away from a brain injury suffered in the fight.
