LONDON — Amy Pu became the first female professional boxing referee in British boxing and officiated her first professional bout in Poland in September 2023. She stepped up to the professional ranks in 2023 after being approached by a British Boxing Board of Control member.

Pu returned to London permanently in 2009 after moving there in 2004 to study. She became a qualified referee in 2018 and was a qualified England Boxing official. Pu took the British Boxing Board of Control training course to advance to a professional role. She became fully qualified as a professional referee in 2025.

Pu refereed a bout on the undercard of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois fight at Wembley Stadium. She also refereed a bout at York Hall in March 2024. During that event, she refereed the Robert Lloyd-Taylor Jr. win over Denis Hnidek, and took on scoring duties a month after her professional debut. She also served as referee for three additional bouts on the same card, including Marcus Eaton's win against Paul Scaife.

Pu reflected on her decision to pursue professional refereeing, stating, "I thought, 'Why not? Why not me?'" She said, "I hadn't thought about turning professional because my goal was to progress to international level in the amateurs. And hopefully one day I could get selected to go to the Olympics." She added, "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." Pu works as a life coach and hosts a podcast.

Pu discussed her family's reaction, noting, "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, "Obviously, they were proud when they heard I was the first and the only one in the UK." Regarding safety concerns, Pu stated, "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!'" She addressed other worries, saying, "Obviously, they worry about racism, they worry about a woman in a really male-dominated space." Pu continued, "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 stated that the reaction from the professional boxing community has been largely positive, saying, "On the professional side, I have to say the reaction has mostly been really positive." She recalled, "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." She explained her initial concerns, "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?'" However, she noted, "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 concluded, "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." She added, "I don't want people to have the excuse to say: 'Oh, she's not doing well because she's a woman.'" Regarding her identity, she said, "And for me, being non-white, having the East Asian face in the ring, I think it might surprise some people." Looking forward, Pu said, "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.'"