It’s not unusual for boxers to get knocked down, but a referee getting dropped, that’s unusual. And that’s exactly what happened in a recent boxing match at Rudolf Weber-Arena, Oberhausen. This Saturday night, two lightweights squared off for the WBC interim strap, and what followed has rarely been seen before.

Undefeated Jadier Herrera took on veteran Ricardo Nunez in a 12-round boxing match. While the fight didn’t go the distance, an incident in the eighth round of the fight made it eternally memorable. So what happened? Cuba’s Herrera launched a barrage of punches on Nunez, which went unanswered, prompting referee Daniel Van de Wiele to intervene.

What happened to the referee?

As Van de Wiele moved in to separate the two boxers, Herrera inadvertently shoved the referee, sending him off balance and down to the canvas. Fortunately, the Belgium-based official was unharmed and quickly got back to his feet. He immediately halted the contest, awarding Herrera his 20th career victory.

DAZN later shared a clip of the bizarre moment on Instagram, captioning it, “The referee goes DOWN as he was trying to stop the fight.” Van de Wiele began his refereeing career in 1981 and remains active to this day, having officiated 1,314 professional boxing bouts so far. He is also widely known by his nickname, ‘Mr. Boxing.’ 

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The Herrera vs. Nunez clash marked his first assignment of 2026. Over the years, Van de Wiele has overseen some of the sport’s biggest matchups, including Lennox Lewis vs. Hasim Rahman in 2001 and Vitali Klitschko vs. Juan Carlos Gómez in 2009. 

While the fall was purely accidental, the internet reacted predictably, with fans quickly latching onto the unexpected moment and making it a talking point online.

Fans argue that the stoppage was premature

One user poked fun at Wiele, pointing at the stoppage. “The person who was stopped looks the most composed,” the user commented. However, the problem was that Nunez wasn’t responding to the punches. 

Meanwhile, this user felt that referees should have an age limit. “There has to be an age limit for the refs,” the user commented. According to sources, referee Daniel Van de Wiele is 69 years old. 

Another user mocked the veteran referee. “Ref should [have gotten] the 8 count,” the user commented. Well, Wiele would have made the count had one been there. 

Someone else genuinely had an issue with how the fight was stopped. “Got stopped way too early, Idk what’s wrong with this ref,” the user wrote. The referee clearly felt that Nunez was taking way too much damage.

The next user praised the referee for getting back up. “I think the ref went down too easily, but at least he beat the count and carried on,” the user wrote. Wiele wasn’t hurt to begin with—it was just an accidental shove. 

Boxing, clearly, doesn’t fail to surprise fans. Sometimes it does through shocking results, and other times, the referee gets knocked down. What did you think about the incident?