The Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight proved to be one of the most thrilling bouts in recent months. The Mexican superstar relentlessly pursued ‘The Chosen One,’ dropping the Brooklyn-born boxer in the third round with a perfect left hook. But Berlanga wasn’t the only one who hit the canvas.

Referee Harvey Dock was working hard to keep the fight clean, closely watching out for illegal shots—a tactic Berlanga is often criticized for. However, things took an unexpected turn when in the 5th round, Dock, while separating the fighters after a heated exchange, slipped and nearly fell face-first on the canvas. Despite the brief stumble, Dock quickly regained his composure and continued officiating.

Harvey Dock is again in the headlines

Canelo eventually went on to win the fight via unanimous decision to defend his WBA, WBO, and WBC super middleweight titles, with the judges Max DeLuca, David Sutherland and, Steve Weisfeld scoring the fight 117-110, 118-109, and 118-109. Regardless, most people would remember Harvey Dock from the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney fight.

He was accused of favoring Haney during the fight and came under heavy fire from the boxing community. Nonetheless, the incident left both commentators and the audience in shock and laughter. Shortly after, former world champion Shawn Porter took to social media to poke fun at the mishap, and the boxing community joined in, lightheartedly laughing off Dock’s accidental tumble.

Fan questions Harvey’s officiating in the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight

Though these incidents are rare, when they do occur, they’re almost guaranteed to go viral. In this instance, it appears Shawn Porter took the first shot at Harvey. Porter wrote, “What Harvey Doc doin lol.” Harvey was attempting to back away after stopping Canelo and Berlanga but slipped in the process.

Another user joined the conversation, writing, “Harvey dock trying to ref canelo x berlanga” while sharing a picture of an athlete falling. Harvey is just the latest victim of the meme culture, which has become a norm on social media. 

Someone else seemed offended by Dock’s officiating of the fight. The user wrote, “If the ref isn’t going to warn Berlanga at all for constantly measuring then I don’t see why Canelo’s catching warnings for borderline shots.” It’s worth noting that despite several instances of such things happening, no points were deducted. 

The next user blamed Dock’s mishap on Canelo’s aura. The user quipped, “Even the ref got knocked down. Canelo’s aura is unmatched #CaneloBerlanga.” Interestingly, this was just the second time in his career that Berlanga was knocked down. The first time was in 2021 during the fight against Marcelo Coceres. 

Lastly, Dan The Boxing Man had to insert his joke about the situation. He wrote, “A ghost knocked down the ref‼️” Dock might not like these jokes at his expense after that intense bout. 

That being said, given the intense nature of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight, Harvey Dock’s mishap added a layer of whimsey to the whole thing. However, the good news is, it did not become a hindrance in the fight. What did you think of Dock’s fall?