History, pressure and overcoming prejudice - Pu's life as a referee

Amy Pu counts with her fingers as Grant Dennis sits on the floor in the ring

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Amy Pu (right) refereed her first professional bout in Poland in September 2023

ByChris McKennaBoxing writer

Published8 minutes ago

"I thought, 'Why not? Why not me?'"

Amy Pu is talking about the moment she decided she would try to become the first ever professional referee in British boxing.

The Taiwan-born official was working as an amateur referee when she was approached by a member of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) about doing it on a professional basis.

The problem was - no woman had ever done it before and no other woman has done it since.

"I hadn't thought about turning professional because my goal was to progress to international level in the amateurs," Pu, who was a qualified England Boxing official, tells BBC Sport.

"And hopefully one day I could get selected to go to the Olympics.

"I did watch professional boxing and what really kind of bugged me was that you didn't see a female referee on TV or at shows."

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Pu took the BBBofC training course and stepped up to the professional ranks in 2023.

Then came the moment of history.

Female referees have officiated across the globe in the professional sport but never in the UK, but that changed at York Hall in March 2024.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Marcus Eaton's win over Paul Scaife, apart from the face that Pu was the third person in the ring.

Pu refereed a further three bouts on that card but was not certain she would be in the ring at all as she travelled to the venue.

"I brought all my kit and everything and the lead referee of the night said: 'Of course, you're stepping into the ring today,'" Pu said.

"The photographers at ringside were taking photos of me and I just thought, 'Oh, this is for real'.

"Once the fight started, I wasn't really thinking about anything apart from the boxers."

'Give me stick as a referee, not as a female Asian referee'

Am Pu wearing a white shirt and black bow tie

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Amy Pu turned her hobby into a profession

Pu grew up in Taiwan and moved to London in 2004 to study before returning permanently in 2009.

After doing some pad work during a personal training session, she thought about finding a boxing club for fitness.

Her fitness hobby turned into amateur competition, then judging, before she stepped out of her comfort zone to become qualified referee in 2018.

"My family are kind of like a traditional Taiwanese family - quite protective and lots of rules - so I think being traditionally brought up, I was quite risk-averse," she said.

Pu's parents were fully supportive of her decision to transition into refereeing, although they did have concerns over her safety and being a target for racism.

"Obviously, they were proud when they heard I was the first and the only one in the UK," said Pu. "But mums being mums, she was asking if it was going to be dangerous.

"I said: 'They're not punching me, they're punching each other!'

"Obviously, they worry about racism, they worry about a woman in a really male-dominated space.

"I had to kind of reassure them that it's OK and that I can protect myself. When I was doing training, I got told you need to be thick skinned and I am that."

Pu took on further responsibility inside the ring a month after her professional debut - scoring Robert Lloyd-Taylor Jr's win over Denis Hnidek as well as refereeing, before becoming fully qualified in 2025.

"On the professional side, I have to say the reaction has mostly been really positive," Pu said.

"During the amateur days, there were some odd comments and stuff. I think one of the hesitations I had before turning professional was also for that reason.

"I just thought: 'Well, it's a very different demographic, the professional boxing supporters', and I just thought: 'Is it going to be worse than the amateurs and with the people that I work with?'

Boxing referees are regularly criticised and, for a woman, the risk of that is heightened, but Pu says her experience so far has been positive.

"People have just been so supportive, knock on wood, I haven't really had any criticism directed at me because of my sex or because of my race," Pu said.

"I'm really grateful and I hope that it continues, that people should see me as a referee. They can give me stick as a referee, not as a female Asian referee."

Paving the way and dreaming of Vegas

Pu, who works as a life coach and also hosts a podcast, does feel added pressure though.

"I don't want people to have the excuse to say: 'Oh, she's not doing well because she's a woman.'

"And for me, being non-white, having the East Asian face in the ring, I think it might surprise some people.

"I feel very privileged.

"I definitely feel the responsibility that I need to be really good and have a high standard in my performance.

"And hopefully I'll be able to show some young girls that when they watch boxing, apart from watching the female boxers, they can see there's a female referee in the ring and think: 'Oh actually, I didn't know I could be that.'"

Pu's ambitions go beyond just being an inspiration. Last year, she took charge of a bout on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk's win over Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium and she is chasing bigger nights.

She added: "A world title fight, maybe at Wembley again, or even at MGM in Las Vegas - who knows? I mean, dream big, right?"