Referee change mid-fight at BKFC 12 after Bill Clancy injures calf
As if the fight itself wasn’t wild enough, Referee Bill Clancy was forced to leave a fight he was officiating, after injuring himself in the third round of the Joe Elmore and Tom Shoaff on the BKFC 12 broadcast.
Elmore, a bloody mess, had been checked by the ringside physician on multiple occasions but was still ahead on the judges’ scorecards.
Shoaff kept coming forward despite being down, keeping Clancy on his toes.
In between the third and fourth round, Clancy limped out of the ring and microphones picked up audio feed of the famed referee saying that he had pulled his calf.
“Where’s the other referee? I just pulled my f*cking calf,” Clancy exclaimed in pain.
Video of the referee Bill Clancy injury below
The second official assigned to the card, Andrew Glenn stepped in to continue the fight through the third and fourth rounds.
Sean Wheelock and Chris Lytle who were working the broadcast booth spoke about the rarity of something like this happening and not being able to recall a time when there had been a referee change mid-fight.
Clancy has officiated thousands of boxing and bare knuckle bouts dating back to his start in 1991. He was inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019.
Elmore would go on to win a unanimous decision (49-42,49-42, 49-43). BKFC 12 took place at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
