Best Judges and Referees for 2014

Published

9 years ago

December 28, 2014

All through 2014 there were fights that were criticized and analyzed by the boxing public for problems in the judging and refereeing departments, which prompted public outcry on more than one occasion.

It started with the junior middleweight clash between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Alfredo “Perro” Angulo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The Mexican war between the two was expected to be an explosive affair, but instead was one-sided as Alvarez pummeled Angulo during the first half of the fight.

Angulo waited too long to make his move in the fight and though he did not show signs of being seriously hurt during the fight, he was beginning to absorb big head-snapping shots. The referee for that fight was referee Tony Weeks, a veteran of many marquee fights. When he saw Alvarez connect with yet another head snapper, he jumped in between the two prizefighters and stopped the fight. Angulo was infuriated.

Fans erupted in anger at the arena and some even tossed beer and other items into the ring. Many felt that Angulo was not given enough time to retaliate, and that included the fighter from Mexicali. But what many do not know or recall is that Weeks had been involved in a fight years earlier when a fighter died because of injuries sustained in the ring.

Back in Sept. 17, 2005, in the same MGM Grand Garden Arena, Weeks was the third man in the boxing ring when Jesus “Matador” Chavez battered courageous Leavander Johnson for 11 rounds in their IBF lightweight title battle. In rounds nine and 10 the fight became one-sided, but the referee allowed the fight to continue. Johnson never hit the deck and willingly motioned for Chavez to continue. Weeks let the battle resume despite shouts from the crowd and even some from the media to halt the fight. It was not until the 11^th round that Weeks stopped the fight. Even then Johnson protested, but when he walked back toward the dressing rooms the boxer collapsed while talking to this reporter. Medics rushed to his side and he was sent to the nearby hospital. He died five days later.

Weeks was the referee for that Chavez-Johnson fight and this might be the reason he would stop a fight instead of allowing a one-sided beating to continue. Today he’s one of the top referees in the business.

Johnson would have turned 45 three days ago.

The robust-looking Weeks was also the center of attention when Marcos Maidana and Floyd Mayweather met on May 3, in the MGM Grand for the welterweight and junior middleweight world titles. It was a rugged affair as Maidana kept Mayweather against the ropes and pounded the champion with unorthodox overhand rights and left hooks. The referee Weeks did not break up the fighters as long as punches were being thrown. Maidana had a great first half of the 12 round fight, but Mayweather made crucial adjustments and walked away with a unanimous decision. Afterward he made criticisms of Weeks’ handling in the fight and complained that Maidana was allowed to do things that other referees would not allow, which is a lot of fighting inside.

“It didn’t bother me at all,” said Weeks when asked. “I just let the fighters fight.”

A rematch was given to Maidana but this time because of Mayweather’s complaints the selection of the referee seemed to be guided by comments he made to the media. The referee chosen for the rematch was Ken Bayless.

In the rematch Maidana was not allowed to fight inside. Throughout the fight whenever Maidana got close to Mayweather they were separated by Bayless, regardless if there was holding or not. Basically, the referee became part of the fight that night and Mayweather was given the handicap of being allowed to fight from the outside all night. Still, despite the referee interference, Maidana got some licks in.

Canelo vs. Lara

Fans pay a lot of money to see prizefights on the elite level. When Saul “Canelo” Alvarez met Erislandy Lara at the MGM Grand, it was pressure fighting versus the style of a boxer/mover. Their clash saw Lara move quickly around the boxing ring while seldom exchanging punches with the more aggressive Alvarez. It was one of the most boring fights of the year, especially at the elite level.

After 12 rounds two judges scored it for Alvarez and one judge, Jerry Roth, favored Lara. What’s interesting is that Roth usually favors the more aggressive fighter. Remember when Felix “Tito” Trinidad fought Oscar De La Hoya? Roth was one of the judges who favored Trinidad that night, though it clearly seemed De La Hoya won the first nine rounds of their encounter. But during the fight between Lara-Alvarez, he favored the Cuban who was reluctant to exchange. You never know what to expect from the judges. Roth is one of the best judges in the world but even he can’t be counted to stick to the script.

Best referees

Tony Weeks may not be Floyd Mayweather’s favorite referee but year after year he works a fight like a master conductor. The only people that complain about Weeks are the photographers who find it difficult to get photos when the wide-bodied Weeks is working a fight. His strength is that he allows the fighters to fight. He doesn’t interfere unless absolutely necessary. Some referees just overdo it and interfere too much. Not Weeks.

Pat Russell rarely makes a mistake inside the boxing ring. The white-haired Russell moves nimbly in and out of the ring and has the timing of an elite boxer. He’s one of the best referees in the last 15 years and if he’s working a fight then it’s in good hands. Russell has worked some of the most important fights in history but you can’t recall seeing him because he stays out of the way. He’s like a ghost inside the boxing ring. Russell makes sure the rules are followed and that a fighter can walk out of the ring.

Steve Smoger works the East Coast and has been the preeminent referee for a very long time. Nobody can compare to Smoger in that side of the country. He knows when to break up boxers, he knows when to let boxers know when they’re dropping low blows and when to stop a fight. It seems easy enough but not all referees know these important aspects. Some stop the fight in mid-action to warn about low blows or head butts. Smoger waits for the perfect time.

Other top notch referees for the year

Jack Reiss, Michael Griffin, Benjy Esteves Jr., Jon Schorle, Raul Caiz Jr., Ray Corona, Tom Taylor, Ken Bayless, Yuji Fukuchi, John McCarthy, Lou Moret, Mike Ortega, and Frank Garza.

Judges

This year has been an eye-opener for judges in the spotlight. On the same card we saw two bouts come to public scrutiny when Jose Benavidez was judged the winner over Mauricio Herrera. In the other bout Tim Bradley and Diego Chaves were scored a draw. One of the judges on the Herrera-Benavidez bout was Max DeLuca, one of the best judges in the world. Very few people felt Benavidez won the fight and felt all three judges were off their rocker. It’s a problem both boxing and MMA share.

Scoring a fight is not very easy and the method of scoring needs to be changed.

Max DeLuca has been one of the most respected and consistent judges in boxing for the last 10 years. Many consider DeLuca the very best judge of boxing today. But nobody is perfect. He had Benavidez the winner by a large margin. But the depth of his work speaks for itself. He is the best judge in the world. You want him judging a fight, especially for big stakes.

Jerry Roth has reigned as one of the top judges for the last 20 years. While other judges come and go he puts his experience to work on some of the top prize fights every year. The Nevada-based judge is widely respected by everyone in the boxing business.

Other top judges

Pat Russell, Marty Denkin, Glenn Feldman, Lisa Giampa, Pinit Prayadsab, Jack Reiss, Sergio Caiz, Levi Martinez, Patricia Morse Jarman, Oren Shellenberger, Julie Lederman, John McCarthy and Raul Caiz.

Honorable mention

Ray Corona, Adelaide Byrd, Alejandro Rochin, Fritz Werner, Robert Byrd and Tony Crebs.

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David A. Avila

In a Massive Upset, Dakota Linger TKOs Kurt Scoby on a Friday Night in Atlanta

Published

4 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Arne K. Lang

In-a-Massive-Upset-Dakota-Linger-TKOs-Kurt-Scoby-on-a-Friday-Night-in-Atlanta

Although it was an 8-rounder on a show with two “tens,” Kurt Scoby’s match with Dakota Linger was accorded main event status on tonight’s card at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. This had everything to do with Scoby (pronounced Scooby), a former record-setting college running back who was considered one of the brightest prospects in the 140-pound weight class. “[Scoby] works harder than almost anyone I’ve ever seen,” said veteran New York promoter Lou DIBella in a conversation with Keith Idec. “But he’s literally getting better after every fight and he’s got the hammer of Thor, man. He can punch through walls.”

The Duarte, California product who has relocated to Brooklyn and trains at Gleason’s Gym, was undefeated (13-0) heading in and was expected to make Linger his ninth straight knockout victim. But Linger, a 29-year-old Buckhannon, West Virginia policemen whose first ring engagements were in Toughman competitions, wasn’t intimidated by Scoby’s press clippings or by Scoby’s bodybuilder physique.

Linger, who improved to 14-6-3 with his tenth win inside the distance, took the fight right to Scoby and repeatedly found a home for his overhand right. In the sixth round, after Linger strafed the ever-retreating Scoby with a barrage of punches, referee Malik Walid determined that he had seen enough and waived it off. The decision seemed a tad premature, but neither Scoby nor his cornermen offered anything in the way of a protest.

Tournament results

In the first installment of an 8-man super welterweight tournament, Brandon Adams returned to boxing after his second three-year layoff and showed no ring rust whatsoever. Adams, a 34-year-old family-man who grew up in the Watts district of LA, dismissed Ismael Villareal with a wicked punch to the liver in the waning seconds of round three. The official time was 2:59.

A former wold title challenger, Adams who improved to 23-3 (16 KOs), has become the king of boxing tournaments. He first attracted notice in 2018 when he won the fifth edition of “The Contender” series, scoring a wide 10-round decision over Shane Mosley Jr in the championship round.

Villareal, a second-generation prizefighter from the Bronx whose dad fought the likes of Hector Camacho, declined to 13-3.

Adams next opponent will be Francisco Veron who will bring a record of 14-0-1 (10).

In an energetic 10-rounder, Veron, a Florida-based Argentine with a strong amateur pedigree, scored a unanimous decision over Mexico-born, LA southpaw Angel Ruiz (18-3-1). The judges had it 100-90, 99-91, and 96-94.

Ruiz certainly had his moments, but Veron launched and landed many more punches despite fighting the last six rounds with a damaged eye.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 281: The Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia Show

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-281-The-Devin-Haney-and-Ryan-Garcia-Show

Over the years bouts between old foes such as Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia tend to be surprising.

Yes, both are only 25 but have known each other for many years.

When undisputed super lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) steps into the prize ring at Barclays Center to meet challenger Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, April 20, fans will be witnessing the continuation of a feud that began more than a decade ago.

And though the champion is a heavy favorite, familiarity is Garcia’s best weapon heading into their fight on the Golden Boy Promotions card that will be shown on PPV.COM with Jim Lampley and friends. DAZN pay-per-view is also streaming the card.

In many ways Haney and Garcia have ventured down the same path. From amateur sensations to fighting in Mexico while teens to asking for the biggest challenges available.

“Whichever version of Ryan shows up on April 20, I will be ready for him. Ryan Garcia is just another opponent to me,” said Haney who holds the WBC super lightweight title after his win over Regis Prograis.

The first time I saw Haney as a pro he battled the dangerous Mexican contender Juan Carlos Burgos at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. It was an impressive performance against a fighter who fought three times for a world title.

Haney was 19 at the time.

My first look at Garcia as a pro was in his first bout in the U.S. when he met Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Cruz at the Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. The Boricua looked at Garcia and tried intimidating him with stares, taunts and the usual patter. During the fight both swung and missed until the second round when Garcia zeroed in and took him out.

Garcia had just turned 18, the legal age to fight in California.

Both fighters did not have the Olympics credentials that lead to fame. But their talent has allowed them to fight through the dense smoke that is professional boxing.

Haney has defeated numerous world champions such as Prograis, Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr., while Garcia has stopped champions Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell.

As amateurs, Garcia and Haney battled six times with each winning three.

“They know each other very well,” said Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. “Ryan is going to beat Devin Haney.”

Haney has a buttery-smooth style with one of the best jabs in boxing. He’s very adept at keeping distance and not allowing anyone to fight him inside. His reflexes are outstanding, yet he seldom fights inside. That’s his weakness.

Garcia fights tall and has superb hand speed and a lightning quick left hook. Though his defense lacks tightness his ability to rip off three-punch combinations in a blink of an eye pauses opponents from bullying their way inside.

“These guys always just look at me and look at me like I don’t know how to box,” said Garcia on social media. “Why was I one of the best fighters in the amateurs. Why was I a 15-time National champion…why did I beat everyone I came across.”

Haney is a strong favorite by oddsmakers to defeat Garcia. But you can never tell when it comes to fighters that know each other well and are athletically gifted.

When Sergio Mora challenged Vernon Forrest he was a big underdog. When Tim Bradley fought Manny Pacquiao the first time, he was also the underdog. And when Andy Ruiz met Anthony Joshua few gave him a chance.

Haney and Garcia have history in the ring. It should be an interesting battle.

PPV.COM

Jim Lampley will be leading the broadcast on PPV.COM for the Haney-Garcia card at Barclays and texting with fans on the card live. He will be accompanied by journalists Lance Pugmire, Dan Conobbio and former champion Chris Algieri.

The PPV.COM broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PT. and is available in Canada and the USA.

Other News

MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be holding a media day event on Friday, April 19, at NOVO at L.A. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Diaz and Masvidal will be boxing against each other in a grudge match on June 1 at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The two MMA stars met five years at UFC 244 with Masvidal winning by TKO over Diaz due to cuts.

This is a grudge match, but under boxing rules.

Fight card in Commerce, Calif.

360 Promotions returns to Commerce Casino on Saturday April 20 with undefeated super lightweight Cain Sandoval leading the charge.

Sandoval (12-0) faces Angel Rebollar (8-3) in the main event that will be shown live on UFC Fight Pass. Also on the card are two female events including hot prospect Lupe Medina (5-0) versus Sabrina Persona (3-1) in a minimumweight clash.

Doors open at 4 p.m.

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Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Heavyweight Merry-Go-Round

There were few surprises when co-promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren and their benefactor HE Turki Alalshikh held a press conference in London this past Monday to unveil the undercard for the Beterbiev-Bivol show at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 1. Most of the match-ups had already been leaked.

For die-hard boxing fans, Beterbiev-Bivol is such an enticing fight that it really doesn’t need an attractive undercard. Two undefeated light heavyweights will meet with all four relevant belts on the line in a contest where the oddsmakers straddled the fence. It’s a genuine “pick-‘em” fight based on the only barometer that matters, the prevailing odds.

But Beterbiev-Bivol has been noosed to a splendid undercard, a striking contrast to Saturday’s Haney-Garcia $69.99 (U.S.) pay-per-view in Brooklyn, an event where the undercard, in the words of pseudonymous boxing writer Chris Williams, is an absolute dumpster fire.

The two heavyweight fights that will bleed into Beterbiev-Bivol, Hrgovic vs. Dubois and Wilder vs. Zhang, would have been stand-alone main events before the incursion of Saudi money.

Hrgovic-Dubois

Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 13 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) fought on the same card in Riyadh this past December. Hrgovic, the Croatian, was fed a softie in the form of Australia’s Mark De Mori who he dismissed in the opening round. Dubois, a Londoner, rebounded from his loss to Oleksandr Usyk with a 10^th-round stoppage of corpulent Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller.

There’s an outside chance that Hrgovic vs. Dubois may be sanctioned by the IBF for the world heavyweight title.

The May 18 showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury has a rematch clause. The IBF is next in line in the rotation system for a unified heavyweight champion and the organization has made it plain that the winner of Usyk-Fury must fulfill his IBF mandatory before an intervening bout.

The best guess is that the Usyk-Fury winner will relinquish the IBF belt. If so, Hrgovic and Dubois may fight for the vacant title although a more likely scenario is that the organization will keep the title vacant so that the winner can fight Anthony Joshua.

Wilder-Zhang

The match between Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) is a true crossroads fight as both Wilder, 38, and Zhang, who turns 41 in May, are nearing the end of the road and the loser (unless it’s a close and entertaining fight) will be relegated to the rank of a has-been. In fact, Wilder has hinted that this may be his final rodeo.

Both are coming off a loss to Joseph Parker.

Wilder last fought on the card that included Hrgovic and Dubois and was roundly out-pointed by a man he was expected to beat. It’s a quick turnaround for Zhang who opposed Parker on March 8 and lost a majority decision.

Other Fights

Either of two other fights may steal the show on the June 1 event.

Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) meets Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight contest. New Jersey’s Ford will be defending the WBA world title he won with a come-from-behind, 12th-round stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov in an early contender for Fight of the Year. Liverpool’s “Wrecking” Ball, a relentless five-foot-two sparkplug, had to settle for a draw in his title fight with Rey Vargas despite winning the late rounds and scoring two knockdowns.

Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KOs) meets fellow unbeaten Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KOs) in a 12-round middleweight match. East London’s Sheeraz, the son of a former professional cricket player, is unknown in the U.S. although he trained for his recent fights at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in California. Riding a skein of 13 straight knockouts, he has a date with WBO title-holder Janibek Alimkhanuly if he can get over this hurdle.

The Forgotten Heavyweight

“Unbeaten for seven years, the man nobody wants to fight,” intoned ring announcer Michael Buffer by way of introduction. Buffer was referencing Michael Hunter who stood across the ring from his opponent Artem Suslenkov.

This scene played out this past Saturday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was Hunter’s second fight in three weeks. On March 23, he scored a fifth-round stoppage of a 46-year-old meatball at a show in Zapopan, Mexico.

The second-generation “Bounty Hunter,” whose only defeat prior to last weekend came in a 12-rounder with Oleksandr Usyk, has been spinning his wheels since TKOing the otherwise undefeated Martin Bakole on the road in London in 2018. Two fights against hapless opponents on low-budget cards in Mexico and a couple of one-round bouts for the Las Vegas Hustle, an entry in the fledgling and largely invisible Professional Combat League, are the sum total of his activity, aside from sparring, in the last two-and-a-half years.

Hunter’s chances of getting another big-money fight took a tumble in Tashkent where he lost a unanimous decision in a dull affair to the unexceptional Suslenkov who was appearing in his first 10-round fight. The scores of the judges were not announced.

You won’t find this fight listed on boxrec. As Jake Donovan notes, the popular website will not recognize a fight conducted under the auspices of a rogue commission. (Another fight you won’t find on boxrec for the same reason is Nico Ali Walsh’s 6-round split decision over the 9-2-1 Frenchman, Noel Lafargue, in the African nation of Guinea on Dec. 16, 2023. You can find it on YouTube, but according to boxrec, boxing’s official record-keeper, it never happened.)

Anderson-Merhy Redux

The only thing missing from this past Saturday’s match in Corpus Christi, Texas, between Jared Anderson and Ryad Merhy was the ghost of Robert Valsberg.

Valsberg, aka Roger Vaisburg, was the French referee who disqualified Ingemar Johansson for not trying in his match with LA’s Ed Sanders in the finals of the heavyweight competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Valsberg tossed Johansson out of the ring after two rounds and Johansson was denied the silver medal. The Swede redeemed himself after turning pro, needless to say, when he demolished Floyd Patterson in the first of their three meetings.

Merhy was credited with throwing only 144 punches, landing 34, over the course of the 10 rounds. Those dismal figures yet struck many onlookers as too high. (This reporter has always insisted that the widely-quoted CompuBox numbers should be considered approximations.)

Whatever the true number, it was a disgraceful performance by Merhy who actually showed himself to have very fast hands on the few occasions when he did throw a punch. With apologies to Delfine Persoon, a spunky lightweight, U.S. boxing promoters should think twice before inviting another Belgian boxer to our shores.

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