MANILA, Philippines – From six to three to two. That?s how the pool of candidates has dwindled in the process of selecting the referee who will work the WBC/WBA/WBO unified welterweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.
International boxing referee Bruce McTavish, a New Zealand native who is awaiting Philippine naturalization and has lived in the country since 1967, said yesterday a reliable source told him the choice is down to either Kenny Bayless or Tony Weeks. The announcement of who will be the third man in the ring by the Nevada State Athletic Commission is expected this week.
The six referees in the pool of candidates were Bayless, Weeks, Robert Byrd, Vic Drakulich, Russell Mora and Jay Nady. The list was trimmed to Bayless, Weeks and Byrd a week ago.
?Theoretically, it could be a hard fight to work because of their styles,? said McTavish who has over 150 world title fights in his resume. ?Manny likes to come inside and Floyd will tie him up so the referee will do a lot of breaking up. Floyd likes to move, stick, and run. If Floyd won?t engage and there is little action, the referee will call both fighters to the middle of the ring and order them to mix it up. While it may be hard to work the fight, both Kenny and Tony are competent referees and they do a good job. They?ve got a lot of experience so they know how to handle a fight like this. I?m looking forward to a great, well-officiated fight.?
McTavish said the referee for the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout will receive a fee of $10,000. ?That?s the maximum you can earn in a fight where the combined purses are in the millions,? he said. ?The judges will receive $7,500 each. The Nevada State Athletic Commission has the right and authority to choose the referee and judges. However, the promoters have the right to complain. It?s not a veto power. It?s just the right to suggest options. In the end, it?s the Commission that decides. The Commission is autonomous and autocratic. I remember once, the president of a governing body declared that he would appoint the referee and judges for a world title fight in Las Vegas. The Commission reacted by saying he can do that but the fight won?t be in Las Vegas.?
McTavish said he has no inside information regarding the judges. ?What I know is one will be an impartial or neutral judge, meaning he could be a foreigner or someone from out of state,? he said. ?The two other judges will likely come from Las Vegas.? Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
McTavish said he knows Bayless and Weeks to be equally competent. ?Kenny?s a real humble guy and he considers me his mentor now that Arthur Mercante has passed on,? he said. ?I recall that when Kenny worked Manny?s fight against Sugar Shane Mosley, he called a knockdown on Manny when it was clearly a trip. Sometimes, it happens that a referee is on the blind side when a southpaw is fighting an orthodox fighter. Kenny didn?t see Mosley stepping on Manny?s foot. Kenny realized his mistake and later, apologized to Manny through Freddie Roach. That took guts to do and a lot of character.?
Bayless, 64, has worked seven Pacquiao and four Mayweather fights while Weeks, 58, has done three Pacquiao and three Mayweather bouts. Bayless was the referee for the Timothy Bradley rematch, Pacquiao?s knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez and the Pacquiao wins over Erik Morales (second fight), Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Marquez (second fight) and Mosley. He worked Mayweather?s rematch against Marcos Maidana and his wins over Saul Alvarez, Mosley and Oscar de la Hoya.
Weeks did the third Pacquiao-Marquez fight, the Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch and Pacquiao?s win over De la Hoya and Mayweather?s wins over Maidana (first fight), Cotto and Marquez.
Bayless was an amateur boxing referee for 19 years before turning to the pro ranks in 1991. He was an NCAA track star at the University of California-Berkeley. Bayless said the hallmarks of an efficient referee are dedication and a willingness to learn and improve. His goals in working a fight are ?to be fair to both sides and to keep the fight clean.? A prostate cancer survivor, Bayless said he owes his recovery to the Lord and his wife Lynora, a nutritionist.
Weeks? first world title fight as a referee involved Filipino Miguel Arrozal who lost a decision to Eloy Rojas for the WBA featherweight crown in Phoenix in 1996. He attended a school in Fort Scott, Kansas, and was an athletic supervisor in a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona. In 1993, Weeks staged a boxing exhibition for inmates and when no referee showed up, he climbed the ring to do the job. The late trainer Albert (Beto) Martinez was at ringside and noticed Weeks had the moves of a natural. Martinez, an Eddie Futch prot?g? like Roach, encouraged Weeks to try his luck as a referee. Now, Weeks has worked world title fights around the globe, including Thailand, Korea, Japan, Germany, Poland and Austria. He has worked world championship bouts featuring Filipinos Brian Viloria, Andy Tabanas, Eric Chavez and Glenn Donaire.
