How to become a boxing referee
Entering the sports centre in Helsinki on Saturday morning I thought I knew what I was getting into, how wrong I was. I was expecting a two-day course with a boxing referee licence at the end of it but I ended up getting so much more: a surprising emotional rollercoaster that only the sport of boxing can deliver.
The venue for the referee course was the Ruskeasuo sports hall in Helsinki, which is legendary in Finnish boxing circles, because of the clubs that call it home and the regular “Ruskiksen Skabat” amateur boxing competitions that are held there. It is also the place where I fought my first boxing match (and most of my fights) as a teenager long ago in the last millennium.
The first day was spent going through the rules and theory of being a referee. All the participants had a boxing background but still, there were plenty of new things that we learned. For example, how a referee should place themselves in a fight between a left-handed and a right-handed opponent — a lefty fights with their right foot forward, and a righty with their left foot forward, therefore, the referee stands on the side of the boxers’ rear feet, the “open” side, so they have an unobstructed view of both the boxers’ arms.
So it was that on our second day, after a day of boxing rules and theory, I enter the Ruskeasuo sports hall with a sense of cheery nostalgia for the final part of the course: the practical part, which culminates with us referees-to-be sitting with the real judges at ringside scoring the bouts for the Ruskiksen Skabat competition.
As I enter the venue I immediately spot a man I haven’t seen in 25 years, my first boxing coach Risto Kopra. Unlike me, he hasn’t aged a day. The man I remember as always sporting a tracksuit is now wearing a white shirt and a bow tie, he’s a referee.
I walk up to him and to my surprise and delight, he recognises me and is as happy to see me as I am to see him. We reminisce on old times and I realise that I must now be as old as he was when he taught me. He was a father then and I a skinny teenager; now, he is a grandfather and I a father. The locomotive of life really does chug-a-chug-a-choo-choo along at a frantic pace, does it not?
Now, what was an educational and enjoyable weekend of boxing turns into something rather emotional. At the age of 43, after a quarter of a century has passed, I get to spend time with the man who taught me to box and, once again, enjoy and learn about boxing from him. Goes to show: life is one big circle or in this case a “ring”, and what a wonderful ring it is.
So, on this joyous note, let’s take a look at how you can join the boxing life and give to the sport in a capacity other than a boxer.
A boxing referee’s responsibilities
Everything in boxing, the rules, the procedures, the equipment, and the referee are there for one single purpose: to protect the boxers.
The world is full of wonderful sports that bring joy and health to people. You can play these wonderful games, like golf, badminton, and soccer, for example, but you can’t play boxing. It’s not a game. However much mystique, history and nobility we want to shower boxing with, it’s still an endeavour were two fighters, in an enclosed space, try to inflict enough damage on their opponent to force them to stop or at the least, show a watching crowd their superiority at hitting their opponent while not being hit themselves.
If you ever watch the start of a professional boxing match on TV you will, without fail, hear the referee say “protect yourselves at all times” to the boxers. This is not ceremony, this is the fundamental concept of boxing. Once a fighter is unable to protect themselves, the referee must stop the fight. This, of course, is a big responsibility to place on an individual, because 99.9% of the time, a boxer will always want to continue or at least say that they want to continue, even when they’re in no condition to do so. This is why you have referees and oftentimes, it is a pure judgement call to decide if a fighter is or is not in a position to continue.
This is the paradox of boxing: a physical battle of incapacitating your opponent, but doing it without it reaching the legal definition of assault. Sounds crazy, but that’s what it is. This makes the referee’s job a difficult one. A constant balance of overseeing violence, but on a level that is controlled and adheres to a set of rules.
The referee rules and no arguing
In boxing, there’s no arguing with the referee. This isn’t football, where the slightest tickle results in a guy rolling on the floor in agony while the other 21 players on the pitch gather around the referee as if they were haggling over the price of a carpet in a Marrakesh bazaar.
One rule that few know is that the boxers are not allowed to speak during a bout. I experienced this myself in the Finnish military boxing finals, where I was up against a fellow who had a kickboxing background. In the first round, my opponent throws a one-two-punch combination and follows up with a kick. As his foot leaves the ground a voice in his head says, “I don’t think I’m supposed to be doing this,” so he tries to stop it mid delivery, kicking me low, right in the family jewels, giving my jingle bells a jingle all the way. I’m wearing a protective cup (as per the rules), so I’m more indignant than in pain. I take a step back, shake my glove at my opponent and verbally express my objection to the gentleman in the bowtie. Because I have a rubber gum shield in my mouth it comes out as “Oi Wef! He bootheth me in the bollockths!”
Result: warning to my opponent for turning me into a soprano and a warning to me for speaking. There’s just no justice in the world.
Be present, but unseen
Ideally, the referee should be unnoticed. The fighters will go about their business and the referee will not have to interfere. Perhaps because the stakes are so high and physical danger is ingrained in the sport, you will see a lot less complaining from the crowd. Yes, the final decision on a winner and loser is a constant subject of contention in a sport based not on goals but judgement, but the actual refereeing during the bout, the referee rarely receives criticism. It happens, for sure, but not as much as in other sports.
So you want to be a boxing referee
If you want to be a referee you must understand that it is up to you, the third man/woman in the ring, to make the bout a sporting event and not a street fight between two people in big satin shorts and giant leather mittens. After all, the rules are pretty simple, everyone knows the basics. But, if required, the referee must have the courage, and the confidence to make clear what is and what is not permitted.
If referring interests you, you should visit your national amateur boxing association’s website, they will often have information on the procedure for your country. If not, then contact the association directly or speak to the people who run your local boxing club. The sport needs referees, the responsibility is huge, but boxing is not just a sport, it is a way of life and a community that welcomes all. I have been to and trained in clubs in many countries and have always been welcomed with open arms. There’s no quicker way to make new friends than to get involved in boxing. It’s a global family.
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