Who is Harvey Dock? All about the referee who officiated Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia
Harvey Dock was the third man in the ring for Ryan Garcia's majority decision victory over Devin Haney. While he has generally been considered one of the best referees in boxing, he had what many considered a rough night this past weekend.
Dock got his start in the sport as an amateur boxer as he was named the New Jersey Amateur Boxing Champion in 1993 and 1994. He was also named the Region 1, which consists of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, Amateur Champion in 1994. His tremendous year culminated with him winning the 156-pound title in the open division at the New Jersey Golden Gloves. He was named the 1994 New Jersey Hall of Fame Amateur Boxer of the Year.
While Dock had just one professional fight, all the way back in 1997, he won the bout via unanimous decision. Dock has served as a promoter and judge, however, refereeing is where he has made his mark.
Since making his officiating debut back in 2004, he has been the third man in the boxing ring for 346 professional bouts, according to his BoxRec profile. Furthermore, Dock has become one of the most recognizable faces in the sport as he has refereed a plethora of title fights and super fights.
Demetrious Johnson criticizes Harvey Dock's performance in Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia
While Ryan Garcia was able to hand Devin Haney his first career loss via majority decision, many believed that Harvey Dock may have cost him a knockout victory. Demetrious Johnson was among that group as he revealed his frustration with the referee's actions in a reaction video shared to his Instagram, stating:
"The thing that was very frustrating about this fight is that the referee kept Haney in that fight I felt like. Haney is hanging on to him and then next thing you know he does a double leg takedown and then the ref is like, 'stop holding him'. It's like, 'time, you stop holding and you stop holding, fight!' It's like, dude, you just gave him like 15-20 seconds of a rest. You stopped Ryan's momentum to finishing him."
Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments on Harvey Dock below:
Garcia also expressed his frustration with Dock, tweeting that he believes he should have won the fight in the seventh round:
"Woke up sad thinking people should’ve got that Ko bet Ref that 7th round should’ve been stopped Point deduction wasn’t warranted, never received a warning Crazy man 🤷♂️"
Check out Ryan Garcia's tweet on Harvey Dock not stopping the fight below:
While Dock faced criticism throughout the bout, it did not stop Garcia from getting his hand raised. 'KingRy' was able to win the bout after landing multiple knockdowns, however, he was ineligible to claim the WBC super lightweight title after missing weight.