A boxing match in the Dominican Republic descended into chaos on Friday night when a fighter attacked the referee after a controversial decision.
Angel Cruz faced Julio De Jesus in an about held in Santo Domingo. Cruz landed a mighty right hand in the second round that sent De Jesus to the canvas. As De Jesus quickly got back on his feet, the referee stopped the fight, awarding Cruz the victory and handing De Jesus his seventh consecutive defeat.
De Jesus, visibly upset by the decision, initially voiced his protests before returning to his corner. Moments later, he walked across the ring and delivered a sucker punch to the referee, who had his back turned, hitting him square on the chin.
After losing his seventh straight fight, Julio de Jesus [27-, 24 KOs], who has an 89% KO ratio, clipped the referee around the ear as he awarded the stoppage win to Angel Cruz [11-1, 9 KOs] in the second round.
The referee decided to fight back.
🎥 @shuanboxing #CruzDeJesus pic.twitter.com/MV6D2aR3Pq
— World Boxing News (@WorldBoxingNews) June 29, 2024
The stunned referee paused before reacting in anger. He stormed into DeJesus’’ corner and threw a retaliatory punch, partially blocked by a DeJesus’’ team member. Cruz, who had been declared the winner, stepped in as a peacemaker, pulling the referee away from DeJesus’’ corner. The referee then quickly exited the ring as tensions flared.
With the victory, Cruz extended his professional record to 11-1. Meanwhile, the 42-year-old De Jesus now faces a likely fine and possible ban for his actions against the official.
The event occurred on a Shuan Boxing card, which was well attended in the Dominican capital. This incident brings to mind a 2014 case where a Croatian fighter was banned for life after brutally attacking a referee at a European Youth Boxing Championship event.
The Metropolitan Police and the Ministry of Justice have yet to comment on the incident. Enquiries are ongoing.
A spokesman for the HMP Prison Service said, “Staff corruption is not tolerated, and the former prison officer allegedly featured in this video has been reported to the police. It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate.”
