Throughout the years, boxing referees have been no stranger to witnessing brutal knockouts, but, on rare occasions, sometimes it’s the ref themselves on the receiving end of a heavy punch.
Though rare, there have been multiple instances where referees have gotten closer to the action than they may have liked.
In 2016, future Diego Pacheco opponent Maciej Sulecki took on Hugo Centeno Jr. and, in a moment where Centeno went low and threw high, referee Mark Nelson took a right hook square on the chin.
Nelson, who officiated the first Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight, wiped his face, smiled at the crowd, and continued to do his job.
A referee was also punched during an Andre Ward fight and more recently, a ref accidentally pushed Claressa Shield’s opponent over in the ring.
A more well-known instance of a referee getting in harm’s way is when Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte fought for the British title in 2015.
At the end of the very first round, Joshua landed a punch on Whyte just after the bell, prompting Whyte into a fury, swinging wildly at AJ with referee Howard Foster forced to get in between both men.
Foster would start the second round with a warning to both men, allowing the fight to continue.
However, there may be only one boxer who can say he’s accidentally struck a referee not once, but twice.
Badou Jack hits two referees with the same punch
Three-division world champion and current WBC Cruiserweight title holder, Badou Jack, was unfortunate in 2017 when, in a super-middleweight world title unification bout against James DeGale, he threw a punch that missed his opponent but almost floored the ref.
DeGale stepped back as Jack threw a mean left hook, which sent referee Arthur Mercante Jr. tumbling into the ropes, held up only by Jack himself.
The pair shared a short embrace after, and no hard feelings were harbored.
Jack and DeGale fought to a draw, both retaining their respective belts.
Only two fights later, in 2018, Jack did it again with the same punch. This time, Jack faced Adonis Stevenson in a light-heavyweight world title contest and, in a similar fashion to the first time, punched referee Ian John Lewis square in the face with a left hook.
Lewis managed to stay on his feet, and once again, Jack fought to a draw.
Jack intends to face Gilberto Ramirez to unify the division and it is possible that ‘The Ripper’ Jack is just two wins from being undisputed.
There was talk also of Canelo moving to cruiserweight to challenge Jack for his title, but following his defeat to Dmitry Bivol in the light-heavyweight division, it seems this is unlikely to happen.
When the referee punches back
Even rarer than a referee being punched is a referee doing the punching, yet last year in the Dominican Republic, that’s exactly what happened.
Boxers Angel Cruz and Julio De Jesus fought in the ring, before the referee had seen enough in the second round and stopped the contest, awarding Cruz the win.
De Jesus, infuriated by this decision, sucker-punched the referee before being escorted back to his corner by his team.
The ref, enraged by this altercation, launched his own attack on De Jesus, swinging a punch at the boxer in his corner, before leaving the ring altogether.
Tony Bellew has spoken on the ref who saved his life against Usyk, highlighting the importance of boxing referees and the tough decisions they are often forced to make.