Tony Weeks knows who will Win

Words / Pic
Seti Afoa

Match Referee Tony Weeks at the #ParkervRuizJr Weigh-in 

Meet the man who will officiate the WBO Title bout between Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr. 

Tony Weeks found out four weeks ago that he will be traveling to Auckland city to referee the fight.

"Anytime you get called up to officiate in a Title fight, it is a great honour."

This is Weeks' first visit to NZ. "It's a very beautiful country, and very friendly people. All the people here are nice." 

As for the fight, Weeks is looking forward to a great fight. 

"It is going to be a great fight. There is a lot at stake. The winner of this will have the WBO portion of the heavyweight championship and will have the opportunity to be in that pool to unify the division." 

He has plenty of refereeing experience. The Parker/Ruiz bout is his 22nd fight this year alone. A year that has seen him take control of fights involving some of the greats of the sport, including the Manny Pacquiao (v. Timothy Bradley Jr) fight in April. 

His last refereeing appointment in 2015 was a memorable one too. He was in charge of the Tyson Fury v Vladimir Klitschko fight in Dusseldorf, Germany (Nov, 2015) that Fury won. 

That was a memorable fight because it brought about a change of the guard, and injected a new energy into the division. 

With all that experience, he knows exactly who will win on Saturday at Vector Arena. When asked who will win the fight, a question he has been asked a thousand times around the world, his answer was ready and honed, "The one who I raise the hand in the ring." 

"As referees, we don't make predictions on fights we officiate in," Weeks said with a beaming smile. 

END