LOS ANGELES?With two weeks left and pressure and excitement building up ahead of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales pay-per-view mega-fight, veteran Joe Cortez and three other ring-tested judges will step up to the challenge of calling the shots accurately and try to catch every split-second action.
Cortez, known in boxing circles as ?fair but firm,? will referee the super-featherweight match which has already been tipped as a hot contender for Fight of the Year. Tickets and per-per-view subscriptions have reportedly been selling like hotcakes, too.
Cortez, the Las Vegas-based referee of Puerto Rican descent, will call it for the third time for Pacquiao, who also will be fighting for the third time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Conversely, it will be Cortez’s first time to call the shots for Morales who is on his 50th fight as a pro.
The three judges for the bout include Dave Moretti, Chuck Giampa and Paul Smith, the same set of judges who called the first Winky Wright-Shane Mosley unification bout, among other high-profile matches.
Shelly Finkel, the new manager of Pacquiao, gave high remarks to Cortez and the three judges, calling them professionals, competitive and fair.
Last year, when Pacquiao faced Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBA and IBF featherweight championship, the three judges saw things differently and inexplicably incoherent.
Nevada resident Burt Clements made the biggest booboo when he scored the match 113-113, a mistake he readily admitted right after the fight. Clements should have scored the first round 10-6 owing to the fact that Pacquiao knocked down Marquez thrice. Clements scored it 10-7, which resulted in a split draw, denying Pacquiao the win.
Two other judges, old man Guy Jutras of Canada and Burt Clements, saw it differently, both scoring 115-110 for Marquez and Pacquiao, respectively. The disparity in scoring was criticized largely by media and protests filed proved futile.
Cortez worked in that controversial fight as well as Pacquiao?s coming out bout with then IBF super-bantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba, whom he knocked out cold, winning his second championship belt.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao has already sparred for 137 rounds including the last of his 12-round encounters as training shifts from high to low gear starting this week. Fan-day Saturday once again saw Pacquiao scoring high on the scoresheet of fans and even sparring partners.
Ronie Cabili, a lightweight of Filipino lineage, tasted Pacquiao?s vaunted power as he was stopped from sparring after only one round. ?I did not know he was Filipino,? said Pacquiao with a smile, as he would have played it easy. Other sparring partners included Jose Sta. Cruz, Raymundo Beltran and Israel Vasquez.
After the sparring sessions and the usual autograph signing and photo opportunities, Pacquiao surprised chief trainer Freddie Roach with a simple birthday party including a pi?ata filled with candies and chocolate, a moment which was greatly appreciated by the 2003 Trainer of the Year.
