R.I.P. Steve ‘Double-S’ Smoger, Boxing’s Most-Traveled Referee

Published

2 years ago

December 20, 2022

R.I.P.-Steve-Double-S-Smoger-Boxing's-Most-Traveled-Referee

If referees boogied toward the ring to the sound of their own entrance music, as all reasonably relevant fighters do now, the logical guess is that referee Steve “Double-S” Smoger’s signature song would be Ricky Nelson’s 1961 hit, Travelin’ Man. Whether he was the third man in the ring for 185 or 200-plus world championship bouts (both figures have been cited for historical purposes) spread over 34 years, the Atlantic City-based Smoger liked to point out he was the referee whose passport was the most-stamped ever for those in his profession, with many U.S. states also on his long list of visited places whereby he could break clinches.

“I like to work, wherever and whenever,” the mustachioed Smoger, who passed away Monday (Dec. 19) after a long illness, once told me of his wanderlust, or all-encompassing career dedication, however one might choose to describe his paid appearances on five continents and countless cities therein where he informed fighters to adhere to his inalterable set of rules, in an emphatic enough manner that somehow never got lost in translation.

“It had to help,” Larry Hazzard, longtime head of the New Jersey State Board of Athletic Control, said of Smoger’s penchant for remaining basically the same high-grade professional whether he was working a show where the customs and customers might be far different from what he was used to as a young ref learning the ropes, as it were. “Variety is certainly a very important aspect of anyone’s learning. The varied experiences you have just give you more tools in your tool box. If you work only in one environment you might be good in that setting, but if something happens that’s kind of outside the norm, you might not be equipped to handle it.

“The more work that officials can get, the better you expect them to be. The mother of retention is repetition. Smoger, in my opinion, was a very good referee and through the years he was always receptive to constructive criticism. I think that’s what made him even better.”

Like the precise number of boxing matches he officiated, more than 1,000 all told, the matter of “Double-S’s” age also might be a matter of some debate. Various sources, including Wikipedia, cite his date of birth as Aug. 15, 1950, in Norfolk, Va., which would make him 72 at his time of death in Atlantic City. But Hazzard, a stickler for accuracy in all fight-related matters, notified Henry Hascup, president of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame who keeps track of all deaths involving boxing figures of all stripes, that Ancestry.com lists Smoger as having made his entrance into the world on Aug. 15, 1943, which would make him 79 for his departure date. That figure seemingly is confirmed by Hascup, who was able to track down a high school yearbook photo of Smoger as a senior in 1961.

At whatever age, however, Smoger, seemingly was predestined to become embroiled in a lifelong love affair with the pugilistic arts. He often spoke of watching fights on the old Gillette Cavalcade of Sports Friday Night Fights with his father, a rite of passage for many kids in post-World War II America, and how much it meant to him for dad and son to travel together to Philadelphia for the Sept. 23, 1952, heavyweight championship pairing in which Jersey Joe Walcott yielded his title to Rocky Marciano on a 13^th-round knockout. Somewhat ironically, it was Jersey Joe, then commissioner of the NJSACB, who issued Smoger his first referee’s license 30 years later, in 1982, when he was 32, or maybe 39.

Some might say that Smoger was a bit of a self-promoter, but a bit of flair can help to elevate otherwise competent referees above those whose demeanor, if overly bland, do little to designate this or that fight as a major event. Smoger’s giddy donning of his “Double-S” persona was hardly different from the “Let’s get it on!” catchphrase of another internationally known referee, Mills Lane, who was 85 when he passed away earlier this month, or the “I’m firm but I’m fair” Joe Cortez.

“Steve probably was popular enough to have had fans of his own,” said Alan Rubinstein, a Senior Court Judge in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in addition to being a boxing judge who observed Smoger’s work from ringside on numerous occasions. “Most referees don’t have aficionados. But Steve Smoger was `Double-S,’ and he received, if not international attention (he did), then national attention. He was sort of the fair-haired darling of HBO when he refereed fights for Boxing After Dark. They always talked, on those broadcasts, about what a great ref he was.”

The flip side, of course, is that a referee can be excoriated if he has a bad night, even permanently so if that person has too many of them. The proof is in the pudding of how well Smoger did his job; he was enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Non-Participant category in 2015, in addition to also being elected to the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame. Honors such as those don’t flow so freely and frequently to anyone whose only distinguishing characteristic is a bit of shtick.

It should be noted that Smoger did have a life beyond the ring, and at which he also made a mark. He served as a member of the New Jersey Air National Guard and the United States Air Force Reserve, holding the position of Staff Judge Advocate and obtaining the rank of colonel until he retired after 30 years of service. At all times, however, he never considered his boxing duties to be a hobby or a side gig.

“Steve and I had an ancillary connection,” Rubinstein noted. “He was a district magistrate in New Jersey and I’m a judge in Pennsylvania, so we had a common interest. I remember he said to me years ago that there was allegedly a conflict between his duties as a magistrate and his duties as a boxing referee, although I didn’t see it. To me, it would have been clear that I’d have to give up boxing because I wanted to stay on the bench. He did just the opposite. He gave up his magisterial job so he could continue to be a referee. He was given a choice, and he made the choice I don’t think I would have made.”

Being a district magistrate in Jersey, however, wasn’t likely to keep Smoger’s passport book inked to a fare-thee-well. I remember how excited he was to describe what he said was his first major overseas refereeing assignment, which pitted Simon Brown against Tyrone Trice for the vacant IBF welterweight championship on April 22, 1988, in Berck-Sur-Mer, France, not far from where the greatest amphibious landings in the annals of warfare took place on June 6, 1944, on the beaches of Normandy. Brown and Trice waged a reasonable facsimile of the celebrated welterweight unification showdown of Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns, Brown finally emerging victorious on a 14^th-round stoppage.

Smoger, the military man part of him, was honored to work a fight so close to the Longest Day beginning of the end of World War II in the European theater, but also to work a great boxing match that was a microcosm of all that the sport sometimes can be.

“What I remember is the resiliency of those guys,” Smoger told me, as excited to remember what had been as he was to work any of the countless other fights he considered to be such an integral part of his own identity. “Simon knocked down Tyrone, what, three times in the 12^th, and Tyrone never fully recuperated. Still, he was able to give a credible account of himself until the stoppage in the 14^th.”

It is now time for the traditional 10-count bell for the man who forever will be known as “Double-S.”

Bernard Fernandez, named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Observer category with the Class of 2020, was the recipient of numerous awards for writing excellence during his 28-year career as a sports writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. Fernandez’s first book, “Championship Rounds,” a compendium of previously published material, was released in May of last year. The sequel, “Championship Rounds, Round 2,” with a foreword by Jim Lampley, is currently out. His third boxing anthology, “Championship Rounds, Round 3,” is now out and available from Amazon and other book-selling outlets.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More

Published

19 hours ago

November 1, 2024

David A. Avila

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Those lightweights.

Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.

Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.

Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.

“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.

Even in Las Vegas.

Verona, New York

Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.

“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.

Foster disagrees.

“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.

Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).

Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.

“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.

Muratalla likes challenges too.

“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.

Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship

WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.

But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.

“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.

In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.

Bad choice for Mucino.

Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.

Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.

Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.

Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.

“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.

It should be exciting.

Fights to Watch

Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Bakhram Murtalaziev was the Fighter of the Month in October

Published

2 days ago

October 31, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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As we close the book on October, let’s look back at the month’s stellar performances. Kenshiro Teraji added another exclamation point to his brilliant career with an 11^th-round stoppage of Cristofer Rosales. England’s Jack Catterall, considered no more than a decent domestic-level talent for most of his career, showed that he had been underrated with a comprehensive 12-round decision over declining Regis Prograis. But the top performance, by a landslide, was delivered by Bakhram Murtalaziev who annihilated Tim Tszyu on Oct. 19 in Orlando, Florida.

Murtalaziev was undefeated (22-0, 16 KOs) and the reigning IBF junior middleweight champion, but he was the underdog and the “B” side. As champions go, and there are roughly five dozen across the 17 weight divisions, the California-based Russian ranked among the least well-known. He had won his title in Berlin with an 11^th-round stoppage of an unexceptional 38-year-old German-Ecuadorian campaigner, Jack Culcay, and he would be making his first defense.

Managed by Egis Klimas who also handles Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, among others, Bakhram Murtalaziev came from a good barn in the vernacular of a horseplayer, but on paper that alone was insufficient to get him over the hump against Tim Tszyu who a few short months earlier was widely considered the best 154-pound boxer in the world.

That was before he met up with Sebastian Fundora who blemished his record, but that setback could have been written off as a fluke.

As we recall, Tszyu was scheduled to fight Keith Thurman in the initial PBC offering on Amazon Prime Video, but Thurman suffered a biceps injury in training and Fundora was bumped up from the undercard to fill the breach. With only 12 days’ notice, Tim Tszyu went from fighting a five-foot-seven fighter who fights out of an orthodox stance to fighting a southpaw who stood almost a full foot taller. The “Towering Inferno” has his limitations, but poses a special problem to anyone, let alone an opponent with little time to formulate a good game plan.

Tszyu was hampered in the Fundora fight by a gash on his hairline that hampered his vision. The injury happened in the second round when he ducked under Fundora and walked into an elbow. The gash bled copiously throughout the fight and yet the best that Fundora could do was win a split (albeit fair) decision.

To say that Tszyu failed to rebound from the Fundora misadventure would be putting it mildly. Murtalaziev steamrolled him, knocking him to the canvas four times in all before Tszyu’s corner tossed in the towel at the 1:55 mark of the third stanza. It was painful to watch. Referee Chris Young was faulted for allowing the match to continue as long as it did. Compounding Tszyu’s misery, his celebrated father, a first ballot Hall of Famer, was ringside. Kostya Tszyu hadn’t seen his oldest son fight in the flesh since Tim’s pro debut in 2016.

Although the dichotomy is imperfect, Tim Tszyu, who turns 30 on Saturday, is more of a puncher than a boxer. That may work against him so far as clawing his way back to a position of prominence. The noted boxing coach Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, a keen student of the history of boxing in the modern era, expressed this sentiment in a Q and A story for Boxing Scene. “Destructive fighters usually don’t come back to full capacity after bad KO losses,” he said, citing John Mugabi, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Naseem Hamed to illustrate his point. Moreover, added Edwards, “No one will ever be afraid of him again.”

But there were two stories that emerged from the Murtalaziev-Tszyu fight. Tim Tszyu crashed, but Bakhram Murtalaziev emerged from obscurity, announcing his presence (pardon the cliché) as a force to be reckoned with. As for his next assignment, the best guess is that it will come against Sebastian Fundora or Errol Spence Jr. who are expected to meet early next year. And based on Murtalaziev’s stunning performance in Orlando, it will be impossible to bet against him.

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Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later

Published

3 days ago

October 30, 2024

The Sweet Science

Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later

By TSS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JAMIE REBNER — In sports, middle-aged athletes are not supposed to beat opponents who are half their age and in their athletic primes. Only the greatest ones can use guile, technique, and experience to compensate for the dulling of speed, reflexes, and athleticism that have unavoidably eroded with time.

That is why George Foreman’s feat of reclaiming the heavyweight title at 45 is so impressive. It was thirty years ago this coming Tuesday, Nov 5, 1994, that Foreman scored a monumental upset in knocking out Michael Moorer to win back the title he had lost twenty years prior against Muhammad Ali in The Rumble in the Jungle. In doing so, Big George became the oldest heavyweight champion, breaking the record previously held by Jersey Joe Walcott, who had won the title at 38.

When Foreman beat Moorer, he was in the twilight of his second career, a comeback that began in 1987. George had retired in 1977 after losing to Jimmy Young and experiencing a spiritual awakening in his locker room. That led him to become a minister and devote himself to his family and congregation. During his retirement, he opened a youth center in Houston, which required much financial support, prompting him to return to the ring.

After winning 24 straight fights from 1987-1990, Foreman lost his first title shot by decision to Evander Holyfield in 1991. He rebounded from that loss with three more wins before getting a crack at the WBO title against Tommy Morrison in 1993. But his performance against Morrison was disappointing and he lost another decision. After that, Foreman was out of the ring for 17 months before he was gifted another title shot against Moorer.

Foreman got that gift because Moorer, due to his sullen demeanor and curtness with the media, was not a draw with the fans. He was also an unproven champion, having beaten Holyfield for two belts only seven months prior. So. Moorer needed a name opponent who could bring in the crowds for his first title defense. And the other top heavyweights like Oliver McCall (WBC champ), Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe didn’t have close to Foreman’s drawing power. So. deserving or not, Foreman was chosen as the challenger to make a fight that would be worth the public’s attention and pockets.

Even Foreman was surprised by getting selected to fight Moorer. “I never in my wildest imagination thought I’d get a title shot again,” he told Associated Press sports columnist Tim Dahlberg. Still, George was determined to make his third time a charm.

But as motivated as George was, there was an irrefutable gap in speed between himself and the much younger champion. From the opening bell, Moorer used his superior quickness and reflexes to make Foreman look stiff and slow. And although George landed punches early on, he fired them one at a time while Moorer countered with multiple shots. But despite Moorer’s advantage in connects, his trainer Teddy Atlas advised him from the get-go not to stand in front of Foreman and make himself a stationary target for a right-hand bomb.

But Moorer failed to heed that advice as he continued to outwork Foreman in the middle rounds. Although he was winning, Moorer’s overconfidence kept him at close quarters, and he continued to circle unwisely to his left and into Foreman’s dangerous right hand. And despite absorbing many quality shots, Foreman never appeared hurt or discouraged thanks to his granite chin and unyielding resolve. He was determined to win and he was willing to walk through as many flush shots as he needed to do so.

With Moorer content to stay in range, Foreman gladly returned his firepower and he landed some telling right crosses, uppercuts, and plenty of thudding body blows during the battle. And while Moorer continued to pile up points and rounds, as long as George was marching forward and throwing shots, he had a puncher’s chance.

And with a minute to go in round ten, that punch came. After missing a three-punch combination, Foreman scored with a one-two, with the right hand landing on the forehead. He immediately repeated that combination but this time aimed the right hand lower on Moorer’s jaw. That slight adjustment caused his bulldozer right to collide perfectly with Moorer’s chin, sending the champion crashing to the canvas and sprawled onto his back. The champion couldn’t beat the count, and just like that, the fight was over, Moorer’s short-lived title run ending before it ever truly began.

With a single, shattering blow, Foreman etched his name into boxing history. Wearing the same trunks from Zaire 20 years before, he was now heavyweight champion of the world once again. It was a shocking result that defied conventional wisdom since seldom do 45-year-old boxers score knockouts over champions in their athletic primes. But Foreman reminded us that he was anything but your typical quadragenarian. He was special, and he had two distinct heavyweight championship reigns to prove it.

—

About the author:

Jamie Rebner lives in Toronto, Canada. He has been a freelance boxing writer since 2016 and his writing has appeared in The Fight City, Boxing News Online, The Ring, and Ringside Seat magazine. His Substack blog is Fight Fundamental, and he is currently writing a book about George Foreman’s comeback. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @J_NReb.

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