Referee Amy Pu refused two attempts from British heavyweight Dan Garber’s corner to throw in the towel before he was brutally knocked out on the undercard of Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2.
Garber, 41, was fighting in his seventh fight of the year against rising Irish star Adam Olaniyan, 20, who was coming into the bout at London’s O2 Arena off the back of a victory at Croke Park last month.
Olaniyan flew out of the blocks with purpose and it seemed the bout was heading towards a swift stoppage, and while Garber survived the first round, he was quickly knocked down after being unloaded on at the beginning of the second.
As he tried to get back to his feet with the count reaching eight, his corner threw in the towel to the boxer’s dismay, which is done to call off the fight.
While it isn’t uncommon for boxer’s to be disappointed with their corner’s decision to end a fight, it is rare for the referee to overrule this call, with corners having a right to bring their man out.
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However Pu, who was the first woman to become a professional boxing referee in the UK, took such action and kicked out the towel, allowing the fight to continue after Garber got back to his feet.
Within moments, Olaniyan connected with another huge right to floor Garber, which was followed immediately by his corner chucking in the towel. Pu again did not adhere to his corner’s requests to end the fight, instead continuing to bring the count to Garber before she eventually waved off the bout on his own accord.
Garber could be seen receiving oxygen ringside after the bout’s conclusion, sparking a furore online over Pu allowing him to take unnecessary damage.
Referees are technically allowed to refuse the action of throwing in the towel as they are the only ones to have authority to end a fight, with British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) regulations stating that the towel does not automatically end a bout.
The result took Olaniyan to 5-0 as a professional, while Garber now sits at 14-10.