Veteran referee Jack Reiss had his officiating skills tested when he took charge of a super middleweight clash in 2013.
When Andre Ward met Edwin Rodriguez in 2013, the pair had a fiery brawl in Ontario, Canada.
Ward, who retired in 2017, held a professional record of 26-0 at the time of the bout. His opponent, Rodriguez, entered the ring with 24 wins and no losses.
Going the distance, the fight gave fans plenty of excitement thanks to its ferocity and dramatics.
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Referee struck in Andre Ward bout
As Ward was showcasing his skills early in his bout with Edwin Rodriguez, tensions began to rise in round four.
Despite the American Ward seemingly leading, a coming together in the fourth round would cause the need for intervention from referee Jack Reiss.
Attempting to separate the two fighters from a clinch, both Ward and Rodriguez continued to take shots at one another. However, the referee was the recipient of at least one rouge punch from the pair.
When the fighters eventually broke, Reiss was able to take a second to move towards the edge of the ring, calling for a time-out.
Speaking to officials ring-side, Reiss said: “I got hit. I got to take a second.” He then went to the corner of Rodriguez to give the fighter a warning where he told him he was instigating the dirty exchanges and “not only that, you’re hitting me.”
After taking a moment to calm down both fighters, Reiss went on to take two points from both Ward and Rodriguez for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’.
Ward would go on to win the fight via unanimous decision.
Andre Ward holds high praise for Jake Paul
Although Jake Paul has been known for split opinions of boxing consumers, former world champion Andre Ward has shown respect to the influencer.
Ward is among few notable names to speak of the influencer in a positive light. Claressa Shields also praised Paul, however, prolific boxers tend to talk the YouTube star down.
Speaking ahead of Paul’s showdown with Mike Tyson, Ward said: “You can’t hate what he’s doing. He was in a whole other industry and he brought his fanbase over here, and I respect that,” on the All The Smoke Podcast.
Giving credit to Paul for putting the work in, Ward said, “He’s taking the black eyes, he’s taking the shiners, and what he’s doing is successful. So you have to respect that, even if you don’t like him.”
Jake Paul would go on to win the bout at AT&T Stadium via unanimous decision and is set to make a further boxing announcement in January 2025.