Acclaimed referee Jack Reiss retires after 25 years and 1,152 fights

Officiated numerous high-profile bouts, plans to still work as a judge

A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.

Jack Reiss, who has been one of the elite referees in boxing for the past 25 years, has announced his retirement.

During his 1999 to 2024 career as the third person in the ring, Reiss, 68, officiated 1,152 professional bouts, according to BoxRec, including more than 100 world title fights around the globe. His total number of bouts is one of the highest totals ever for a referee.

His final bout turned out to be Terence Crawford’s decision win over Israil Madrimov to win the WBA junior middleweight title in the main event of the Aug. 3 Riyadh Season card at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Reiss, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived for decades in Southern California, primarily worked for the California State Athletic Commission, which made him the go-to referee for many of the biggest fights in the state. Although he will no longer work as a referee, Reiss plans to continue as a judge and instant replay official for the commission.

---

I am in my 25th year of full-time boxing coverage. Take advantage of that experience by upgrading to a paid subscription for full access to all posts and comments — and also support independent journalism.

---

Reiss said he was happy to step down on his own terms.

“For me, being a boxing referee has never been just a job,” Reiss told Fight Freaks Unite. “It’s been a privilege and a calling. The honor of officiating some intense and memorable fights is something I will always treasure.

“Over the years, I’ve witnessed countless fighters and officials who stayed too long, leaving the sport as mere shadows of their former selves. That was never what I wanted for myself. My love and respect for boxing are far too deep to ever risk tarnishing the integrity of the sport or any contributions I may have made to it. This is why I’ve chosen to step away from reffing and refocus my attention. While I had always planned to retire around my 69th birthday in April 2025, the timing feels right now. From December 2023 to Aug. 3, 2024, I had the incredible honor of refereeing several high-profile title fights.”

Indeed, during that period Reiss refereed Devin Haney’s WBC junior welterweight title victory over Regis Prograis; Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez claiming the WBA cruiserweight title from Arsen Goulamirian; Denys Berinchyk outpointing Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO lightweight title; and Crawford-Madrimov.

Reis’ highest profile moment was on Dec. 1, 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he was the referee for the first of the three heavyweight championship fights between then-lineal champion Tyson Fury and then-WBC titlist Deontay Wilder.

Reiss was poised and under control administering the count to Fury when he suffered a massive 12th-round knockdown after having previously been down in the ninth round. While most referees probably would have immediately stopped the bout, Reiss was calm and took his time to assess the fallen Fury, whose eyes were open and following his count.

In an iconic boxing moment, as Reiss counted over him, Fury sat up like WWE’s Undertaker, beat the count, responded to Reiss’ instructions and went on to outbox Wilder over the final two minutes of the fight, which was ruled a controversial split draw many believed Fury deserved to win.

Before the Wilder-Fury rematch in 2020, Reiss went into detail in an interview with this reporter on making the decision to allow Fury to continue, which seemingly changed he course of heavyweight history. If Reiss stopped the fight there likely would not have been a second or third bout, thus dramatically altering the trajectory of the careers of Wilder and Fury as well as the landscape of the division.

“When I saw the two punches he got hit with, the right and then the left, I saw that they were thunderous punches, very hard punches, and I said to myself, ‘Wow, that’s a hard knockdown,’” Reiss said in 2020. “I was always taught to count a champion out. Before I waved it off, I wanted to see what I had. I got Wilder to the neutral corner, which he did on his own. I didn’t have to do very much. Grabbed the count from the timekeeper. One of the things I noticed is that Fury’s right leg was up. To me, that was on his own power, so he wasn’t out. I don’t know if he was annoyed or taking a rest, but to me if he was unconscious, that leg would have been flopped down. He was holding it up.

“I didn’t think he was out because of his leg, but I expected him to be in bad shape from those punches. I expected his eyes to be closed, but when I got close enough to him, I saw that his eyes were actually open. More importantly than that, as I got down on a knee next to him, he didn’t move his head, but his eyes shifted to me. He saw me coming. He looked at me. So I knew he was awake. It makes a big difference. If his eyes were closed, I was waving it off.”

Reiss didn’t and the rest was history. It was a decision he is proud of making even though some criticized him for a supposed slow count.

“It was the greatest decision I’ve ever made in boxing,” Reiss added in 2020. “My count was perfect. As I was saying nine, he was rising. And there was no part of his body other than the soles of his feet touching the ground as I was saying nine. He was up. That’s it. I’ve checked it 100 times — real time with my stopwatch on my phone. It was nine seconds.”

Among the many other notable bouts Reiss worked were Errol Spence Jr.-Shawn Porter, Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa, Gennadiy Golovkin-Marco Antonio Rubio, Crawford-Julius Indongo, Bernard Hopkins-Joe Smith Jr., Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares I, Vasiliy Lomachenko-Gary Russell Jr. and Mikkel Kessler-Andre Ward. He also worked on all five seasons of “The Contender” reality series.

“Given this run, I thought why not go out on top? I wanted to leave on my terms, before the commission or anyone else had to suggest that my time had passed,” said Reiss, who takes pride in the fact that he never disqualified a fighter. “To me, this decision isn’t an end. It’s a continuation of a career I’ve loved every step of the way, since I get to stay with it in other capacities.”

---

A note to subscribers

I sincerely appreciate your readership. If you’re reading, it means you love boxing just like I do. If you’ve been reading you also know the quality and quantity of what I produce. It’s one-stop shopping. Read the newsletters and there is no need to search multiple websites or click a multitude of links to get the latest news, opinion and detailed fight schedule. Everything you need is in one spot and delivered directly to your inbox (or via phone alert if you download for free the superb Substack app). You don’t have to hunt for the news; it comes to you.

I believe that is worth something, so while I will continue providing stories, notes and the schedule for free, I encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription for the most content. A paid subscription is your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism. I am beholden to no network, promoter, manager, sanctioning body or fighter. If you have read my work at all during the past 24 years I’ve covered professional boxing you know that I keep it real and that will not change.

To upgrade your subscription please go here:

Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!

---

Photos: Reiss/Fury: Reuters; Reiss-Spence: Frank Micelotta/Fox Sports

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing