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Boxing Judge John Stewart’s Career Scorecard Worthy of Commendation
Boxing Judge John Stewart’s Career Scorecard Worthy of Commendation
The announcement came without fanfare. There was no laudatory tribute in his local newspaper, no testimonial dinner, no gold watch presented for 43 years of dedicated service to his sport, 42 if you consider that his most recent appearance at ringside was on March 7, 2020, because of, perhaps not entirely, the global pandemic that has changed so many lives.
“I’m retired now,” boxing judge John Stewart, 79, informed an acquaintance of long standing (me) in a recent telephone conversation. “I’m making it official. Really, it was time for me to step away. I’d done headliner shows for a long time, but for the last three in New York I was assigned walkout bouts. I found myself still in the arena at 11:30, a quarter to 12, with nobody there but the judges and the families of the fighters. Sometimes that’s the handwriting on the wall. Anyway, 40 years of doing anything is a long time. It’s like that Kenny Rogers song. You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.”
If Stewart sticks to his vow to remain away from boxing, which does have a way of luring back longtime riders who periodically choose to exit the carousel, let the record show that the last fight he worked was a third-round technical knockout scored by Big Apple welterweight Arnold Gonzalez over Traye Labby of Pittsfield, Ill., at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, in support of the concluded heavyweight main event in which Robert Helenius stopped Adam Kownacki in six rounds. Not that anyone knew then it was Stewart’s last fight. The man himself wasn’t sure at that point.
“The joy of it began to go out about five years ago,” the Philadelphia native and longtime South Jersey resident told me. “I had been made president of the Chinese boxing commission, and I enjoyed that because for 30-plus years of having bosses telling me where to go and what to do, I finally had become the boss. It was my job to assign and train the officials, to bring in the fighters and the announcers. I had a very good matchmaker (Jack Crowder), which helped. Melvina {Lathan} was my consultant and my wife {Jasmien} even got involved in timekeeping over there.
“I brought people in like {referees} Tony Weeks from Vegas, Benjy Esteves from New York. We even brought Mike Tyson over there and he did some things with the kids that they enjoyed, and Mike did, too. See, the Chinese love boxing people with familiar names. The organization was called the IPBU, for International People’s Boxing Union. A gentleman named Zhang Tao was its founder. I remained president for five years, which were the last five years of my career.”
But, ironically, the deadly virus that originated in China not only nudged Stewart toward the exit, it all but shoved him in that direction. And even if it hadn’t, the seemingly endless flights to and from the other side of the planet had begun to wear on a veteran traveler who was edging ever closer to 80.
“The pandemic stopped a lot of things we were doing over in China,” Stewart noted. “The organization basically folded. We haven’t called them and they haven’t called us. It just sort of faded out, for now. Well, for good in my case.
“And beside that, I can’t take those 13- to 15-hour trips overseas. I’ve filled up three different passport books. That’s a lot of traveling, and that part of it isn’t fun anymore.”
To be sure, John Stewart, a highly respected boxing judge and an even better person, enjoyed his lengthy association with boxing so much that any disappointments he endured in the latter stages of his career did not come close to negatively tipping the scales. Even though Stewart had a day job – he was self-employed, operating a limousine service for 35 years – he said that “boxing can take a hold of you and not let go. Before I became a judge I was going to the PAL {Police Athletic League} gym every day after school, 23rd and Columbia, in North Philadelphia.”
Rudy Battle, the longtime referee who is now the chairman of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, was instrumental in bringing Stewart – who had judged amateur bouts since the early 1960s until moving up to the pros in 1978 — into a more prominent role. He considers it to be one of the best things he’s ever done in the sport where brickbats are as common, and probably more so, than kudos.
“It’s wisdom and professionalism that comes with experience,” Battle said of the reputation for integrity he believes his friend has earned. “I remember picking him up (at Stewart’s home in Lawnside, N.J.) during a snowstorm in New Jersey and taking him to his first assignment in Atlantic City. After all this time, I can’t remember him being called into question as a central figure in any controversial decisions. He has always conducted himself as a gentleman and I rate him among the top judges in the world. I don’t know if he is recognized as much as he should be, but then John doesn’t go around telling anyone how good a judge he is, and has been. If it’s true John has judged his last fight, he’ll be missed.”
Among the elite fighters whose bouts Stewart has been up close and personal for are Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Andre Ward, brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Pernell Whitaker, Riddick Bowe, Thomas Hearns, Juan Manuel Marquez, Naseem Hamed, Michael Spinks, Azumah Nelson, Meldrick Taylor, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Donaire, Deontay Wilder and Mikey Garcia. And that’s just a partial list.
Oh, and those three passport books that were fully stamped? Although most of the fight sites where Stewart and his pencil were ringside regulars were in Atlantic City, New York and Philadelphia, international assignments took him to, in addition to China, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Israel, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Mexico, Thailand and Canada.
Perhaps the most prestigious gig on Stewart’s resume was Tyson’s 91-second crushing of Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988. “The atmosphere was electrifying,” Stewart said of a night when he didn’t even have to use his pencil. “I don’t know if any other fight I did really compares to it. What a lot of people don’t remember is that it took longer for the fighters to come out of their dressing rooms than for the fight to take place. There was some kind of dispute over who would be introduced last. They had to go in there to nearly drag out Mike, as I recall.”
The kind of recognition that sometimes is accorded top referees, and mediocre-to-bad ones as well, comes easier because they are in the ring and moving around with the fighters, in full view of spectators and television audiences. Marc Ratner, former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said Nevada-based ref Mills Lane gained fame almost on a par with the champions whose fights he worked, and not only for his familiar “Let’s get it on!” catch phrase. “It almost seemed like he worked all the Super Bowls of crazy fights,” Ratner said of Lane, who was the third man in the ring for the Holyfield-Bowe II “Fan Man” fight in 1993, Oliver McCall’s bizarre crying jag against Lennox Lewis and, most notably, the Holyfield-Tyson II “Bite Fight.”
Judges tend to be far less conspicuous, unless they submit a scorecard that is egregiously wrong and, worse, contributes to a decision that smells worse than dead fish left in the sun. There are no obvious red herrings on Stewart’s resume, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t question himself at times.
“I’ve been very fortunate in that there haven’t been many instances where somebody said, `That Stewart guy is dead wrong.’ But whenever the ring announcer reads the decision, you heart palpitates a little bit. You always hope you made the right call, the correct call. That anxiety is probably a bit higher when you’re doing big fights, and I’ve done my share of those.
“I hate to sound like a goody-goody two shoes, but I remember when I started out Russell Peltz {the longtime Philadelphia fight promoter} told me, `John, call it like you see it.’ And that’s what I did. I always called it as I saw it.”
Stewart has been inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, which to my mind is wholly appropriate. Despite the many fights he has judged in New York, he is ineligible for the New York Boxing Hall of Fame because the rules for induction stipulate that possible candidates either have to have been born in the state or lived a significant part of their career there. But his credentials would seem to be worthy of a close look from the Pennsylvania and Atlantic City BHOFs, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame would not seem to be beyond the realm of possibility.
Enjoy your retirement from boxing, John. Not only have you merited a respite, you merit so much more than that.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 307: Destination Puerto Rico, Israel Vazquez and More
Liam Paro the saucy Aussie from Brisbane surprised the world in his last effort. He’s back for more.
Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) defends the IBF super lightweight world title against Brooklyn’s Richardson Hutchins (18-0, 7 KOs) whose arms are as long as his first name. The Matchroom Boxing card will be shown from San Juan, Puerto Rico on DAZN.
The last time Paro fought also took place in Puerto Rico when he upset then-champion Subriel Matias last June. It was like watching Bambi beat up the big bad wolf.
How did he do it?
The southpaw Aussie (pictured on the left) used a persistent attack that emphasized quick punches while pressing forward against the powerful Matias. Leverage was his game and he maintained the pace for 12 rounds to lift the title from the Puerto Rican.
The challenger Hitchins poses a different threat. Though he won a close decision in his last fight against Argentine slugger Gustavo Lemos, the Brooklyn fighter used his length and clinches to nullify the constant attacks.
When Paro and Hitchins meet, both like to clinch on the inside. Its when they fight at arms-length that the battle will be decided.
“Hitchins is mandatory for a reason. He’s worked his way up there, and we know that this isn’t an easy task. We’re at the world level now where every fighter is elite,” said Paro.
For Hitchins the opportunity arrived quickly.
“I respect Liam, because he’s not one of those guys that will mess around,” explained Hitchins. “Liam has never been in the ring with an opponent like me.”
Also on the Matchroom card, lightweight Marc Castro (13-0, 8 KOs) meets Agustin Quintana (20-2-1, 13 KOs); super feather Hector Lebron (19-0, 10 KOs) meets Christopher Diaz-Velez (29-4, 19 KOs); and flyweight Yankiel Rivera (6-0, 2 KOs) fights Angel Gonzalez (14-0, 7 KOs).
Israel Vazquez R.I.P.
In the boxing world, not every champion becomes financially rich. Some like Israel Vazquez become rich in adulation and respect. Few prizefighters were as beloved as Vazquez.
The Mexico City native was perhaps the greatest ambassador of boxing. Wherever he went fans were drawn to his smile and friendliness. Everywhere I encountered Vazquez fans surrounded him like a long-lost cousin.
Sometimes I wondered how this humble human being could be the same beast in the boxing ring that fought epic battles against many of the best fighters of the early 2000s. Vazquez was like a werewolf once he put on those gloves.
Managed by Frank Espinoza and son he quickly developed a fan base in the Southern California area. Nothing came easy for Vazquez though he was trained by legendary Freddie Roach, it seemed Vazquez was always destined to encounter crazy obstacles.
I vividly remember at the Arrowhead Pond, Sycuan Casino, and especially Fantasy Springs when he was there as a spectator and one of the fighters did not appear. Vazquez was there about to eat a hot dog with relish and was asked if he could fight? He put on his trunks and gloves and won the fight.
Who does that?
His battles with Oscar Larios and Rafael Marquez were some of the most brutal yet captivating boxing wars ever seen. I remember his third fight with Larios taking place in Las Vegas. He was a 5 to 1 underdog. It didn’t make sense. Vazquez won by knockout.
I attended three of his four battles with Marquez. The first one took place at the Home Depot Center now called the Dignity Health Sports Park. The two Mexico City super bantams savagely slugged it out. But Vazquez suffered a severe broken nose and could not breathe. The fight was stopped and I remember the HBO announcers criticizing his manhood for not continuing.
Vazquez went on to defeat Marquez twice in subsequent fights that were all captivating wars and emblazoned both their names in history. No other battles could match their ferocity.
Yet, outside of the boxing ring, Vazquez was revered and beloved as the most kind and generous fighter.
The last time I saw Vazquez was at a Hall of Fame luncheon in Commerce, California a year ago. He asked if it was okay to sit next to me. Me a nobody and him a Hall of Fame fighter. I was invited by Nancy Rodriguez, another wonderful human being and a boxing official, to attend the luncheon. I always feel tongue-tied sitting next to greatness. It was the last time I spoke to Vazquez.
The fighter known as “El Magnifico” fought for the last time in 2010 at Staples Center. His eye was badly cut and his manager Frank Espinoza retired the revered champion. Three years later, I ran into Vazquez at a boxing card in Cancun, Mexico. I couldn’t find my transportation and there was El Magnifico about to enter a taxi cab with six other people. He spotted me and said to join them in the cab. But there was not enough room. He offered his spot in the cab. I told him “no thank you, those are your friends but thanks for the kind offer.”
That was Israel Vazquez. One of the best human beings I ever met.
Top Rank in Arizona
Two world title fights headline a Top Rank card in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 7. ESPN will show the pivotal matches.
WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinoza (25-0 21 KOs) defends against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) whom he wrested the title from a year ago.
“I’ve always wanted a rematch. because it was a war where we both gave everything. So, he deserved it, I deserved it, and the people deserved it,” said Espinoza.
Mexico’s Espinoza has a long reach and power that kept Ramirez off-balance when they fought in 2023. It should be a very interesting rematch.
Another rematch pits Oscar Valdez (32-2,24 KOs) against WBO super featherweight titlist Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) who defeated him when they met in August 2023. Their first encounter was brutal.
“It’s going be difficult for both me and Valdez. However, we don’t need much. All we need is for the bell to ring for us to go to war,” said Navarrete.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 4 p.m. Liam Paro (25-0) vs Richardson Hitchins (18-0).
Sat. ESPN 7:30 p.m. Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1) vs Oscar Valdez (32-2); Rafael Espinoza (25-0) vs Robeisy Ramirez (14-2).
Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom
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The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
PRESS RELEASE — CANASTOTA, NY – DECEMBER 5, 2024 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown” Canastota, NY.
The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category.
Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.
“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony.
For more information on the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, please call (315) 697-7095.
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Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta
The annals of boxing abound with iconic rematches, and there’s a good chance that list will get longer after this Saturday in Phoenix’s Footprint Center with Top Rank’s ESPN card featuring Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) versus Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs, against Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs).
Valdez’s ties to the local area and multiple Arizona appearances give his bout against Navarrete top billing, but WBO featherweight titlist Espinoza’s initial encounter with Ramirez was the better bout the first time around, deemed Fight and Upset of the Year by many observers.
That’s not to say Navarrete-Valdez 1 didn’t hold plenty of drama as Navarrete captured the WBO junior lightweight belt with a relatively widespread unanimous decision. Valdez got himself into an immediate bind in the first fight by walking into Navarrete’s jab, enabling Navarrete to score early with looping right leads from his six-inch reach advantage. Valdez’s corner implored him to stay patient but it seemed there was no avoiding a firefight that played into Navarette’s always busy hands.
By round 3 Valdez’s face was heavily marked and often on the defensive, waiting to establish an offense that never fully arrived. Though he scored with some big shots down the stretch, his swollen right eye closed by the 9th frame and the eventual outcome seemed obvious.
“I know there’s a lot of pride at stake in a Mexico versus Mexico battle,” said Navarrete. “I believe this will be an even better fight than before because we’re familiar with each other. I know I have to push Valdez to his limits.”
“I made mistakes the first time, the biggest one was trying to knock him out,” reflected Valdez. “I still have a few fights left in me, not everyone gets a second chance. I know what I needed to train for (this time) and I’ll make the most of it.”
Offense was never a problem for either Espinoza or Ramirez, who traded knockdowns in a give-and-take affair that might have gone either way. It was the gloved-up version of mongoose versus cobra as two time Olympic gold medalist Ramirez charged in behind blurring punches up the middle while the much taller Espinoza fired shoulder level combinations. In this case, it was the underdog cobra who triumphed.
Three days from first bell an unofficial consensus of online odds listed the previous winners as favorites, Espinoza by a hair and Navarrete by a solid margin. While the initial winners may still have an edge, that all disappears after the bell, and previous action indicates a pair of pick-em contests isn’t unlikely.
Boxing history is also full of tie-breaking trilogies, too. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if that’s what we’re looking at again in both these cases.
Adding to the electric atmosphere in Phoenix are a solid batch of undercard extras featuring multiple first-rate performers that should get the audience more than ready for the night’s headliners.
Top Rank junior welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado, 21-0 (15) from Nuevo Leon, meets skilled Dominican Jackson Marinez, 22-3 (10) in a contest that could qualify as main event worthy in many locales.
Undefeated southpaw heavyweight Richard Torrez, Jr, who earned the silver medal in that division for the USA at the 2020 Olympics faces off against Mexican big boy Issac Munoz Gutierrez, 18-1-1 (15) who reportedly packs a respectable wallop. None of Torrez’s pro opponents have made it to the final bell.
San Diego’s highly ranked welterweight title challenger Giovani Santillan, 31-1 (17) faces Fredrick Lawson of Ghana, 30-5 (22). Lawson has dropped his last two outings but that was against good opposition and he won’t be an easy test.
21 year-old DJ Zamora, a hot prospect at 13-0 (9) from Las Vegas meets experienced Roman Reynoso, 22-5-2 (10), from Argentina and emerging new stablemate Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, 11-0 (7), who recently signed a long term Top Rank contract faces Gerardo Antonio Perez, 12-6-1 (3).
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