"Refs is crazy man smh" - Damian Lillard calls out referee for rescuing Tyson Fury from Oleksandr Usyk's raining blows
Damian Lillard gave his take on the referee while watching the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight title bout on Saturday. The Milwaukee Bucks star revealed he's enjoyed the sport for years and he's even practiced it at some point.
During the fight, Lillard called out the referee for saving Tyson Fury after Usyk was attacking him and landed a few blows that cornered the British fighter to the ropes.
"Refs is crazy man smh," Damian Lillard wrote on Twitter.
After Usyk's punches put Fury against the ropes in the ninth round, the referee decided to stop the fight a couple of times to give the then-undefeated boxer a chance to recover before resuming the duel. He would be saved by the bell and continue with the fight until the final second.
In the end, Usyk had the last laugh as he won the fight via split decision. Two judges saw Usyk winning the fight, 115-112 and 114-113, respectively. The third judge gave it to Fury, scoring it 114-113 to the Gypsy King.
Following the match, Fury claimed he had dominated the majority of the fight.
"I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority," Fury said, via BBC. "It was one of the daftest decisions in boxing. I'll be back."
Usyk thanked everybody for the opportunity and made it clear he'd be ready for a rematch. These two gave a big fight and considering the state of the Heavyweight class, a rematch must be on the cards right now.
Damian Lillard gets candid on struggles during first season with Bucks
After starring in the trade of the 2023 NBA offseason, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo were ready to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship. However, the duo went through a tumultuous season that ended with a quick playoff exit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
When the season was over for his team, the point guard opened up on the things he endured during the campaign.
"It was a roller coaster of a year. … It was a lot for me to fight through but I take a lot of pride in standing tall when things don’t go as planned or how I would like them to go. … I never made excuses," Lillard said at the start of May.
The former Portland Trail Blazers player never stopped playing because of that and always showed up for his team. This season was bad for the Bucks and Damian Lillard, but they'll be ready to bounce back next year to try to challenge for the NBA title.