A boxer went rogue and punched the referee in feral scenes that followed a fight featuring 5 knockdowns
- A heavyweight boxer punched a referee after losing by knockout in the second round of a bout.
- Iago Kiladze and Viktor Faust exchanged five knockdowns in a New Year's Day slugfest.
A fighter went rogue and punched the referee in feral boxing scenes that followed a heavyweight slobberknocker featuring five knockdowns in two rounds.
It all went down midway through a New Year's Day combat-sports event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Sluggers Viktor Faust and Iago Kiladze were by no means competing in the main event, but they may have stolen the show as they combined to throw 110 shots in little more than a round of fighting.
They produced five knockdowns, with Faust credited with three and Kiladze two, Compubox data sent to Insider indicated.
As the referee waved the contest off in round two, Kiladze appeared to protest the decision and threw a fist at the man in the middle — Samuel Burgos.
The fighter even seemed to say, "What's wrong with you, man?"
The punch appeared to ricochet off Burgos' arm, and it didn't seem to do too much damage as he was seen laughing after the bout.
The foul didn't affect the result as Faust had already won the fight, which advanced his pro boxing record to nine wins (seven knockouts), undefeated.
Kiladze's record retreated to 27 wins (19 knockouts), six defeats, and one draw.
Elsewhere on the card, boxer Frank Martin looked like one of the brightest combat-sports stars for 2022 as he dispatched lightweight opponent Romero Duno in crowd-pleasing fashion.
Luis Ortiz defeated Charles Martin in the main event.