BOXING fans were left stunned after a referee kicked a towel out of the ring on the undercard of Dubois vs Wardley.
Rising Irish star Adam Olaniyan was taking on 41-year-old heavyweight Dan Garber in the build-up to the WBO world heavyweight bout at the O2 on Saturday.
And it is safe to say the youngster had the upper hand in the early exchanges, battering his opponent in the first round before dropping him in the second.
He took an eight count before getting to his feet, but his corner had decided they had seen enough and threw in the towel.
However, Garber seemed willing to continue and Olaniyan was unfazed by the towel, prompting referee Amy Pu to kick the towel out of the ring and allow the pair to keep scrapping.
The moment shocked some boxing fans, who questioned whether an official was allowed to reject the gesture, which is typically made by a fighter’s team to try and end the fight on their behalf.
One fan asked: “Is this actually legal? If a corner says fights off then fights off???? No!??”
While another questioned: “Hehshshhs they can do this??”
While throwing in the towel is recognised as a request to end a fight, it is ultimately a decision made at the referee’s discretion.
If the referee – in this case British boxing’s first female ref – decides that a fighter can defend themselves and is willing to continue, they are able to reject a towel being thrown in.
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Some fans were impressed with the decision, with one writing: “Ref is 100% within their right to do that.”
Another added: “She just became one of my favourite refs.”
But others questioned whether the decision produced a risk to Garber’s safety.
The older fighter fought on but was again pummelled and knocked down, with his corner again throwing in the towel.
Pu seemed to ignore the towel again and gave Garber a count, but called the bout off after interacting with the bruised fighter.
A similar incident occurred in 2021, when Lewis Ritson’s team chucked in the towel against Jeremias Ponce only for the ref to throw it out of the ring.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn commented on that occasion: “The referee had the right to reject the towel coming in.
“I don’t think they should have that right, quite frankly, because that’s putting fighters in danger.
“Nobody knows a fighter better than the corner team. Nobody knows the conversations that have gone on other than the corner team and the fighter.”
The bout continued Olaniyan’s flawless 5-0 start to his professional career, while Garber’s record fell to 14-10.