At a Shuan Boxing event in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Julio de Jesus, after losing by TKO to Angel Cruz, struck the referee in frustration, prompting the referee to attempt retaliation.
Refereeing is a thankless job under the best circumstances. But one official was pushed past his limit Friday.
At a Shuan Boxing event in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Angel Cruz scored a second-round TKO of Julio de Jesus. That result turned out to be only the beginning of the action.
A visibly agitated de Jesus walked over to the referee afterward. He struck him with a stiff sucker punch.
Though the referee was mostly unharmed, he turned toward de Jesus’ corner. Then he lunged forward and attempted to retaliate with a punch of his own.
Watch the strange sequence below.
The stoppage of the bout came after Cruz landed a powerful overhand right that badly rocked de Jesus. This prompted the referee to step in.
Cruz had been the aggressor for most of the contest. This may have factored into the referee’s decision.
De Jesus suffered his seventh straight loss dating back to 2019. This stretch also includes a previous TKO loss to Cruz.
Watch the full fight below.