Published: 05:15 EDT, 18 October 2026 | Updated: 08:18 EDT, 18 October 2026
The white towel is universally recognized as the ultimate symbol of surrender in the sport of boxing, a desperate plea from a fighter’s corner to wave the white flag and protect their athlete from sustained, unnecessary punishment. But during an explosive night of heavyweight action at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, a professional referee sparked a massive controversy by twice refusing to accept a towel thrown into the ring, leaving a veteran fighter to absorb a brutal and potentially dangerous barrage of headshots before the contest was finally brought to a halt.
The dramatic incident unfolded on the undercard of Daniel Dubois’ high-profile victory over Fabio Wardley. The heavyweight clash pitted rising prospect Adam Olaniyan against 41-year-old veteran Dan Garber from Bradford. While the young, undefeated Olaniyan extended his impressive professional record with a dominant performance, the primary talking point of the bout quickly shifted away from the canvas and onto the referee in charge, Amy Pu.
Pu, who holds the distinction of being the United Kingdom’s first and only female professional boxing referee, found herself at the center of a raging sporting debate after she actively intervened to keep the fight going. Footage broadcast by DAZN showed Pu kicking a white towel thrown by Garber’s corner out of the ring to allow the action to continue, a move that left boxing fans, pundits, and safety advocates stunned.
The sequence of events leading up to the stoppage demonstrated a stark disagreement between a fighter’s corner and the official in the middle of the ring. Garber, overwhelmed by the pace and power of his younger opponent in the second round, appeared dismayed by his team’s initial attempts to submit on his behalf. Sensing their fighter was in danger, the corner tossed the towel into the ring, signaling that they wished to safeguard his health.
However, Pu elected to ignore the gesture, determining that the fight should continue. Seconds later, the twenty-year-old Olaniyan seized upon the reprieve, unleashing a devastating flurry of further punches that ultimately sent a defenseless Garber crashing to the canvas to conclusively end the contest. Even as Garber fell, his team tossed in a second towel, which was once again ignored by Pu before she finally stepped in to officially wave off the bout and halt the punishment.
The aftermath of the fight underscored the physical toll of the decision, with Garber spotted receiving oxygen ringside by medical personnel as he recovered from the punishing sequence of blows.
Within the strict rulebook of professional boxing, it is relatively rare for referees to actively overrule the decision of a boxer’s corner to pull their fighter out of a contest, though the action is technically permitted under the regulations governing the sport in the United Kingdom. According to the guidelines set down by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), the throwing of a towel into the ring does not legally or automatically bring an end to a fight. Instead, the final authority rests entirely with the referee, who holds the sole responsibility and discretion for determining the precise moment a bout must be stopped to protect the safety of the competitors.
Despite the technical legality of Pu’s authority, the reaction from the wider boxing community was overwhelmingly critical. Video clips of Pu kicking the white towel across the canvas and out of the squared circle quickly went viral across social media platforms, sparking fierce debate about fighter safety, referee discretion, and the status of the corner’s towel in modern combat sports.
Viewers took to social media to voice their outrage over the sequence. One fan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressing severe concern over the delayed stoppage by writing that the referee had nearly gotten Dan Garber seriously injured by kicking the towel out of the ring.
Another viewer echoed those safety concerns, writing that Garber was left receiving medical oxygen after the referee inexplicably refused the corner’s towel and allowed Olaniyan to pile on additional, unnecessary damage. The same fan suggested that the governing body rules should be amended to make the appearance of the towel an automatic end to a fight, arguing that officials outside the ring have a different perspective on the physical toll a fighter has absorbed during intense training camps and the bout itself.
A third user scrutinized Pu’s broader officiating record on the night, claiming that the BBBofC referee had struggled throughout the event with inconsistent stoppages before pointing specifically to the incident involving Garber as part of a troubling pattern.
Pu, who originally hails from Taiwan, came to the sport relatively late, taking up boxing in her thirties after moving to London. She transitioned into officiating and achieved a historic milestone in 2024 when she became a professional boxing referee. Over the course of her officiating career, Pu has occasionally spoken about the challenges and isolated issues she has faced regarding racism and sexism within what remains a heavily male-dominated sporting environment.
Reflecting on her career path earlier this year in an interview with the BBC, Pu noted that the reception she received from the professional boxing community had largely been positive. She acknowledged that during her time in the amateur ranks, she had encountered some unusual comments and hesitation before deciding to turn professional, primarily due to concerns about how she would be treated.
However, she expressed gratitude for the support she had experienced since stepping up to the professional level, noting that she had not faced widespread direct criticism tied to her sex or her race. At the time, she emphasized her desire to be judged purely on her professional competence as an official, stating that people were welcome to criticize her performance as a referee without resorting to prejudice regarding her background as a female Asian official.
The sporting outcome of Saturday night’s bout leaves Olaniyan’s promising professional career moving forward at an accelerated pace, with his record now standing at five wins and zero losses. Meanwhile, Garber’s extensive professional ledger shifts to fourteen victories against ten defeats, reflecting a long and hard-fought career in the brutal sport.
Despite the intensity of the stoppage and the widespread public concern over the referee’s refusal to accept the towel, Garber himself did not appear to harbor any lingering bitterness or frustration toward Pu’s decision-making. Taking to social media on Facebook in the wake of the fight, the veteran fighter chose to focus on the financial rewards of stepping up on short notice and the milestone of securing his future, rather than the controversy surrounding the end of the bout.
Garber shared his thoughts with his followers, writing about the whirlwind experience of taking the fight on just a week’s notice and acknowledging that he and his team knew the magnitude of the challenge they were facing, offering no excuses for the defeat.
Reflecting on whether the grueling encounter might mark the definitive conclusion of his career, Garber noted that time waits for no one in the sport of boxing. He reflected proudly on his journey, explaining that boxing had enabled him to buy two houses previously and that the payday from Saturday night’s fight would allow him to purchase a third. Describing the sport as a massive and defining part of his life, Garber concluded that if this indeed proved to be his final night in the ring, going out in front of a roaring crowd of 20,000 fans at the O2 Arena was a fitting way to bring down the curtain on his career.
