LAS VEGAS, Nevada ? First on the Nevada State Athletic Commission?s (NSAC) agenda was the hearing on Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s fight license for the May 2 super bout against Manny Pacquiao.
The commission has decided to grant Mayweather a license, which means that his fight date with Pacquiao is a go.
After careful deliberation, the commission and the camps of Pacquiao and Mayweather have also reached a unanimous decision regarding the third man on the ring on fight night.
Tony Weeks, Robert Byrd and Kenny Bayless were the top candidates for the post. But in the end, it was Bayless who was chosen to referee the mega bout.
?The commission proposed the list of officials. We agreed to all of them and the fact that they happened to be Americans, it?s just the way it worked out. Manny has a huge home in America, he has a big stake in America and he is very happy,? said Top Rank?s Bruce Trampler.
Bayless is a familiar face to Filipino fight fans as he already handled some of Pacquiao?s fights. He has officiated eight of Pacquiao?s fights in Las Vegas, starting with the Filipino?s second bout against Erick Morales in 2004.
Bayless also handled four of Mayweather?s fights. The most notable of them was the American fighter?s clash against future Hall of Famer Oscar dela Hoya in 2007.
Before being appointed as the referee for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, Bayless said it would be a privilege to become the third man in the ring between the two superstars.
?Well it?s been an honor for me to referee Manny Pacquiao. He is a great fighter,? he said. ?I think the Nevada State Athletic Commission will have a confidence in my work to give me the assignment when Manny Pacquiao fights here.?
Bayless will get $25,000 to referee the bout.
As for the fight judges, the commission has proposed several names and the camps of Pacquiao and Mayweather have chosen three: Dave Morreti, Glenn Feldman, and Burt Clements, all veteran judges.
Moretti has experienced judging Mayweather for eight years and was also among the officials during the Pacquiao-Dela Hoya fight in 2008.
The most controversial of the three is Clements, who was part of the lopsided decision that favored Pacquiao against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004.
Feldman, meanwhile, is a Connecticut-based judge.
?Everybody is gonna be there to work hard. The one thing that people need to understand: just because the magnitude of this fight from a dollar perspective, it’s not different from any other fight that we do here in Las Vegas,? said Cisco Aguilar of the NSAC. ?The commission has an established procedure they have established process and we follow that process and it?s been refined over the last 40 years.?
?All that has been discussed amongst the commissioners, I can tell you from this commissioner that this town loves Manny Pacquiao. And we are so happy that he is gonna be here and he fought here a lot and from one commissioner and I speak for all of them we’ve done everything we can to make sure this’ll be a fair fight it will be judge accordingly. We have no horse in this race. And we wish Manny and the Filipino people the very, very best,? added NSAC commissioner Bill Brady.
Meanwhile, one veteran sports writer did not favor getting all-American boxing judges.
Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review Journal said the NSAC should have gotten judges from all over the globe to remove doubts of the fight?s result.
?I was a little bit surprised that the commission didn?t choose an international judge to at least one Nevada judge and one out of state judge. It would?ve been the way to go,? he said.
?I understand where Manny’s fans might be upset. Especially as Mayweather lives here in Vegas and two judges will be coming from Nevada. If the fight goes to a decision, possibly Floyd will get the benefit of it.?
Each of the judges will get $20,000 for scoring the super fight.
