That question may sound bizarre, but 3 out of 4 associations rules are almost the same about a knock down at the end of a round. Except for the WBO. The boxer has to stand up and be able to continue, the rules are very clear. If it's the case, the referee asks the bellkeeper to ring the bell. Only the ref in the WBO can decide when to ring the bell in that situation. In the WBC, it's clearly written that the bellkeeper has to ring the bell as soon as the boxer stands up. Same thing but not as much clear in the IBF rules. In both associations, the boxer just has to stand up. So, is it possible that both Marlon Wright and the bellkeeper did not review the IBF rules and apply the wrong rules?
"6. The bell will not save a boxer in any round of the bout. If a boxer is "downed" just before the 3-minute bell in any round, the referee's count shall continue and the bell will not ring until the boxer rises and his hands clear the floor." The problem with this rule is that it is ambiguous. Does the bell ring during the referee's count, as soon as the fighter rises and his hands clear the floor, or does it ring as soon as the referee has finished his eight-count, as long as the boxer had rised and his hands had cleared the floor? It makes a sight difference because if it's the latter, the fighter can beat the count and be stopped by the referee who considerd he wouldn't be able to continue, not knowing that there wouldn't be any time for him to continue for anyway, because the timekeeper hadn't ringed the bell. If it's the former, the timekeeper also takes responsibility for deeming whether the fighter has risen with his hands clear of the floor. He might right the bell just before the referee would have deemed that he hadn't beaten the count. Only way you can solve the conundrum is if the bell rings at the three minute mark to warn the referee that after that point, the figher only has to beat the count, not also to prove that he is able to continue. Of course, the bell would be rang as a warning, and not to stop the referee from counting, because that would mean it would save the fighter, which is against the rules. However, the bell is not allowed to be ringed until the fighter had risen with his hands clear of the floor...so...we're back at square one. I'd say that in the Bute case, it was obvious whether Bute had risen or not, his hands clear of the floor, so the timekeeper could easily have ringed the bell as soon as he had done so, given that he had risen with his hands clear of the floor by the time the referee got to 6 (the first time around). The timekeeper didn't ring the bell then, nor as soon as the ref finished the 8 count, but only later. So...I'd say the timekeeper certainly did not apply the IBF rules. The referee applied the IBF rules except in one respect: he counted 6 twice, imo. The other problem comes with determining when a fighter is "up"/ According to Rule 1, a fighter is up when: "1. A boxer shall be deemed to be down when This content is protected as a result of a legal blow as ruled by the referee, who is the only person authorized to determine this." However, according to rule 6, to beat the count, you need just to be rising, with your hands clear of the floor. It's rule 6 that needs to be applied in this case, not rule 1. Neither rule says you aren't allowed to lean against the ropes or cornerpost, for example. The referee applied this rule well too. Bute was slumped against the corner post and later he was leaning slightly against it; according to the rule, as applied by the ref, he was "up". He'd have been up even if rule 1 had been applied to define "up", though.
