A REFEREE was on the receiving end of some brutal punches during a boxing match in Japan.
The incident took place during Rikiya Anpo’s RIZIN 49 clash with Sina Karimian, who was a replacement for boxing superstar Ryan Garcia.
Anpo – who recently threw down with Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao – was too slick and elusive for his replacement opponent.
Frustration soon started to get the better of Karimian, so much so that he started to break the rules of the contest.
The Iranian threw several spinning back fists in the sixth round and received a stern warning from the referee.
An irate Anpo eventually responded with one of his own, sparking pandemonium as the ref tried to separate the pair.
Both men threw punches as the official tried his best to keep the duo apart.
And Karimian ended up landing several hard blows on the poor ref, who took them like a champ.
Ringside officials eventually entered to help restore order and the fight was later restarted.
Footage of the incident went viral, with one fight fan saying on X: “Dear lord.”
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Another said: “[The] ref does have some chin.”
And another said: “What a POS and that ref has a chin on him.”
One remarked: “This was one of the wildest things I’ve seen in combat sports.
“Plus that ref is tougher than most opening-card fighters in MMA.”
Another chimed in: “One of the craziest things you’ll see in combat sports.
“The referee deserves a bonus lol.”
Commentator Michael Schiavello later wrote: “This was NUTS.
“The referee took three solid hits from a heavyweight.”
Stunningly, neither man was punished for failing to obey the referee’s commands.
Anpo continued to tee off on Karimian after the restart and cruised to a 60-54 victory on all three of the judges’ scorecards.
