Fighter punches ref in 5-knockdown boxing tear-up (VIDEO)

Heavyweight toughman Iago Kiladze traded five knockdowns in two rounds with opponent Viktor Faust in a wild boxing scrap – and the Ukrainian left the last shot for the match official after he stopped the fight.

Fans could not believe what they were watching when former cruiserweight title holder Kiladze, 35, had his challenge waved off at close quarters by referee Samuel Burgos in Florida.

A clearly angered Kiladze reacted by throwing a right hand that bounced off Burgos's left arm. The shot then hit his bearded target square on the chin, leaving the hugely experienced Burgos looking surprised but unruffled as he stepped out of range.

Burgos presided over an epic brief contest, with Kiladze hitting the floor twice in the first round, when Faust also went down once.

Both bruisers took a count in the second round, only for Kiladze to be stopped around the midway point of round two.

Frustrated Kiladze was said to have asked Burgos: “What’s wrong with you, man?”

The local Miami resident reportedly halted Kiladze's night because he felt the fighter had stumbled sideways when the referee checked his balance.

"Wasn’t a bad stoppage," one punter at the fight said on social media. "He was hurt. Legs were gone."

Another shared footage of Burgos appearing to be chuckling and having fun after the showdown.

"Ref was laughing after the fight," they said. "He's going to tell everyone he took a punch from a pro boxer for the rest of his life."

The eventful win for Ukrainian former amateur champion Faust was a fittingly action-packed prelude to the main event, in which Luis Ortiz recovered from being knocked down twice to knock out Charles Martin.

Georgian-born Kiladze took Ukrainian citizenship in 2007 and now fights out of Kiev.