Boxing is an unforgiving game, here one mistake can cost you championships and glory. But what if a wrong call is made by someone else that costs you the same? Judging and officiating have been one issue that plagues boxing, and it was on display when Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought John Gotti III in their converted rematch. Chaos could have erupted because of the referee, Hector Afu, but luckily, it didn’t. Now it seems, this was not the first time that the referee had made such a controversial call, as Stephen Fulton came out with a confession.

The fans failed to make sense of what transpired when Afu stopped the action in the second round of the Mayweather vs. Gotti III rematch to warn ‘Money’ of his back-of-head punch, while Mayweather Jr., 47, asked him to “shut up” and “move.” It eventually ended with Afu leaving the officiating duties to someone else, and then the action resumed, without any fuss in the later rounds.

But Afu committed a grave mistake last year when Fulton, 30, defended his unified super bantamweight straps against Naoya Inoue. ‘Cool Boy Steph’ turned to his X handle and shared the incident, as he admitted that Afu allowed the Japanese champion to hit him when he was on the canvas. In addition, the referee didn’t issue any warning to him.

Fulton, at 21-1, wrote, “Not saying I wasn’t losing the fight lol hear me out. This the same ref that let Inoue hit me again after my gloves touched the canvas. No warning or anything. He’s a sh*tty ref.”

This is not the first time someone has blasted Afu for his awful calls. The fans still remember the visuals of George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney‘s fight, where the latter resorted to excessive clinching but went scot-free without any repercussions. The Australian boxer had announced, “The ref didn’t give us any help with the holding.” However, if Henry Garcia is to be believed, Mayweather Jr., at 50-0, also shared the blame for the uproar at last Saturday’s fight.

Henry Garcia blasts Floyd Mayweather for changing the referee

The Garcia family lynchpin commented on a DAZN post, which shared the clip of Afu making way for another official as Mayweather Jr. protested at his actions. He noted, “When you don’t have the way, money will take you the rest of the way.” He believed his financial hold on the fight allowed him to do it and get someone favorable in the ring to officiate it.

Thankfully, there was no chaos in the fight after the switch, and a crisis, unlike the first fight, didn’t happen. But the officiating could have been better.

What do you make of this comment by Stephen Fulton Jr.? Do you believe Hector Afu erred in the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. John Gotti III fight? Let us know in the comments below.