When Davey Moore?s cornermen sent him out for the eighth against a sneering and vicious Roberto Duran at the Garden, their bravery was remarkable?
Hopefully, some awareness has been established that a boxer can be lured into this ?game? if he does his boxing in Indonesia, or if he foolishly decides to continue to box after having suffered a brain bleed. However, though it?s far from axiomatic, there are other ways Russian roulette can be engaged.
This points to the fact that certain people are placed in charge of protecting a boxer from undue punishment. The sequential rings of protection may differ from state to state, but clearly the ringside physician, referee, members of the state boxing commission (if they are present)), and a fighter?s corner (trainer, second, and cutman) are included. And for the most part, they all do a fine job, particularly the referees.
But like passengers who board a plane and depend on the expertise of the pilots, fighters who crawl through the ropes must also depend on the expertise of the referees because in a very real sense, their lives depends on that expertise?and nothing less than zero defects should be acceptable.
Speaking of airline passengers, the Airline Industry is at its safest point since the dawn of the Jet Age. In fact, flying has become so reliable that a traveler could fly every day for an average of 123,000 years before being in a fatal crash. Perhaps the business of boxing could examine the reasons for this remarkable record and see there might be related applications such as failure analyses, zero defects in safety, training, continual redesign of rules and policies, etc., but that?s the grist for another essay. Suffice it to say that like a passenger, the safety of a fighter should be first and foremost.
But sometimes there can be a loss of focus?.
1948
Tony Zale finished off a groggy Rocky Graziano in their third fight in 1948. The ?Man of Steel? ended matters with an eyebrow-raising downstairs-upstairs combo as referee Paul Cavalier looked on in a manner befitting his name and then proceeded to count over the unconscious Rock. When Rocky got up after his first decking, he didn?t move backwards?he fell backwards.
1958
In 1958, Ingemar Johansson demolished crafty Eddie Machen. Eddie was decked three times by Ingo?s famed ?Hammer? of a right and at the end was almost decapitated by the Big Swede. It all happened in the chilling first round. Referee Andrew Smyth worked many high profile fights during his career, but (suffering from decision paralysis) gave Ingo way too many free shots in this one and then had the hubris to count over the unconscious Machen while he (Smyth) inexplicitly looked out at the crowd. This was as bizarre as it was scary. Said Mike Casey, ?…watching that slaughter requires a strong stomach. Oddly enough, it shakes the viewer more than Johansson?s seven-knockdown hammering of Patterson.? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IYTulD4SeI
1981
Back in 1981 in a frightening encounter in Halifax, Nova Scotia, referee Honey Carvery failed to smother Dicky Eklund?s unrestrained attack of eight or nine flush crosses at full speed on Allan Clark?s unprotected head before he sank to the canvas unconscious. Here it is but first a warning, this is not for the faint of heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP1xLnxFrE8
1983
?At ringside, Moore?s mother and girlfriend had fainted, slumping in their seats, and now there were cries to stop the bloodbath. But the referee, Ernesto Magana of Mexico, appeared blind to what was going on. He kept looking at Moore?s closed eye, as if waiting for it to fall out before he would stop the fight. Leave it to the WBA to hire a turkey to run a cockfight. That is what it had become, and Duran had all the talons.??William Mack
When Davey Moore?s cornermen sent him out for the eighth against a sneering and vicious Roberto Duran at the Garden, their bravery was remarkable. As for referee Ernesto Magana, whatever responsibility he felt for Moore?s well being was seemingly nonexistent. ?Finish him off now,? Duran?s trainer, Nestor Qui?ones, told him before the eighth. It took Duran two minutes and two seconds to convince Moore?s trainer, Leon Washington, to throw a blood-spattered white towel of surrender into the ring. If Magana saw it, he disregarded it. Finally, Jay Edson, a Top Rank representative, reportedly stormed into the ring and called a halt to the proceedings. ?The worst ref I?ve looked at for a long time,? said Duran?s former trainer, 83-year-old Ray Arcel?
1984
Talented James ?The Heat? Kinchen exploited equally talented Alex ?The Bronx Bomber? Ramos? suspect chin in 1984 at Caesars Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada. This important middleweight clash was televised on NBC. In what had become an extremely close fight, Kinchen nailed Ramos in the ninth round with a right cross to the head which sent the ?Bronx Bomber? back into the ropes unconscious. The punch did not appear to carry much zip, but it hit Ramos on the temple. With Alex tied up on the ropes and totally helpless, referee Joey Curtis was not fast enough and Kinchen was able to take another shot at his defenseless opponent, a free one that could only render terrible damage. The second right had true malice behind it and it knocked out an already knocked-out boxer?if that?s possible.
1990
?The fight was televised live nationally on USA Cable, and La Mancha employees said their switchboard was deluged with telephone calls in protest of Yanez?s handling of the fight.??From Times Wire Services dated November 7, 1990
?Referee Roger Yanez, apparently on a lunch break, didn?t intervene and it looked like Benton had been killed. He slumped face first into the canvas and that prompted Yanez to react. He began counting. The fight was over and Garcia had a devastating knockout that got a lot of play because of the horrible officiating and the overall brutality of it.??Geno McGahee (Ringside Report)
Highly touted Mexican-American Alex ?The San Fernando Hammer? Garc?a tangled with tough Bernard ?Bull? Benton in Phoenix. In the second stanza, Garcia used his sharp jab to keep the incoming Bull at bay. After two nice body shots, the Hammer stunned the Bull with a left hook followed by a right cross and then the slaughter was on.
An onslaught of between 35 and 40 unanswered shots was launched. Many landed while Benton was out on his feet but pinned in a corner. Some of the shots landed with full force, some landed low. The protracted assault included left hooks, right crosses, uppercuts, and hard shots to the body and groin. Garcia threw everything but the stool at the poor Bull. Announcers Al Albert and Sean O?Grady were shouting for the fight to be stopped as Benton?s head was snapping back violently. Then, as Benton fell face down on the canvas totally unconscious, referee Roger Yanez began the count before realizing he could have counted to 1,000 as the crowd unloaded on him with boos. It was terrifying to witness.
Later, the spin was that the referee was out of position to make a make a timely decision; the reality was that the referee was more likely spinning around Saturn.
Here is the YouTube and be forewarned, this is not for the weak stomached: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wcuwbw71pw
1990
Arthur Mercante Jr. was the referee when the late Michael Dokes was hit by a left hook by Razor Ruddock in their bout at the Garden and was completely unconscious yet propped up by the ropes. Razor got in at least one lethal free shot with his famous smash left hook. For reasons known only to him, Mercante proceeded to count Dokes out, but the doctors thankfully rushed into the ring before Junior could finish. Dokes remained unconscious for several minutes. Mercante could have counted all night. Though Dokes then won nine in a row against just fair opposition, he never was the same. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uehFuWEkI-Q
1991
Merciless Ray Mercer perpetrated a merciless stoppage over Tommy Morrison in 1991 at Atlantic City. At stake was the WBO heavyweight title. Mercer caught a gassing and lunging Duke early in the fifth and launched over 15 heavy shots?including some dangerous head snappers before referee Tony Perez (who curiously also worked the horrific Cooney-Norton massacre in May 1981) could halt the concussing. To some, these two stoppages generated excitement and drama. To others, they were unnecessarily repulsive.
1995
In 1995, Charles Murray put a frightening nonstop beating on Reggie Green in Rochester, NY and pummeled him with far too many unanswered punches before bouncing Green off the lower ropes, but referee Arthur Mercante Jr. did not call it a knockdown. This one is especially difficult to watch, for it brings back memories off Davey Moore and Michael Watson. See? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fVHQAWh-r0
1997
Referee Mercante Jr. allowed Diosbelys Hurtado to take 11 straight fully-leveraged lefts from Pernell Whitaker while the young Cuban was caught along the ropes. Whitaker pummeled Hurtado like he was pounding nails into wood; luckily, he was not a big puncher. As Jim Lampley said, ?I think Arthur would like to have that one back.? Lampley pointed to four specific punches where the fight could have been stopped earlier. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r10UhTO9JaI&feature=related
2000
?I?d run out of gas, but I?ve got no regrets. My eyes were closing and I didn?t want to get knocked out. This is a scary sport and one punch is all that it takes.??Wayne Rigby
On July 1, 2000, a bout occurred at the Bowler?s Arena, Manchester, UK, that had all the ingredients for a classic Brit dust-up. The participants were late-substitute Wayne Rigby (17-5) from Manchester and Michael ?Shaka? Ayers (28-3-1) from London. ?Shaka? was the IIBO lightweight titleholder. And once again, the referee was Mercante Jr., but this time, after a tremendous war, the fighters took things into their own hands and made the final decision themselves. With only 29 seconds left, Ayers signaled to Junior that the fight should be stopped, but for some inexplicable reason the referee was not responsive. Ayers then pummeled his helpless and badly bloodied opponent until both men signaled that enough was enough, touched gloves, and headed back to their corners. This unique ending occurred with just 14 seconds left. It was a rare moment of poignancy that tingled the spines of those who witnessed it.
As Mike Lewis wrote, ?Dropping their hands, Ayers and Rigby decided there and then that this memorable bruising battle was over? An extraordinary finish to an extraordinary contest. Hardened Manchester ringsiders had never seen anything like it.?
?Barry Hearn, my manager, said it was eerie,? recalls 36-year-old Londoner Ayers of his remarkable victory which was deemed to be a stoppage. ?It was almost as though Wayne and myself had communicated through telepathy. Somehow he got it across to me that he?d taken enough and I stopped.?
But the best quote came from Jerry Storey, Ayers? Irish trainer when he said, ?Those two guys showed boxing still had a soul.? See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Q0KqEZ4Ro
2001
In January 2001, Olympian Michael Bennett KO?d Andre Hutchinson in the first round at the Garden. Even though his Jamaican opponent was done and out, Bennett was allowed by referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to land two more late and flush shots. It was another case of knocking out a boxer who was already knocked out and it was not pleasant to witness. Judge for yourselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vTjLYdTv3E
In February 2001, Ray Mercer met the limited Jeff Pegues who was 18-7 at the time. This bout was held in Elgin, Illinois, reflecting Ray?s decline as a major attraction. Ray hammered Jeff into the ropes with a powerful right. Jeff leaned helpless and out on his feet as he was tangled in the ropes. Mercer then wound up like he was tossing a base ball and threw a right haymaker that connected flush on poor Pegues sending him out of the ring. It all happened too fast for referee Genaro Rodriguez to stop it. ?That shot he (Mercer) threw against Pegues, thank God his head didn?t wind up in the third row,? said promoter Dan Goossen. ?It was vicious, but that is what our sport is.?
In June 2001, Mercante (again) worked the fateful televised fight between Khalid Jones vs. Beethaeven ?Bee? Scottland on the USS Intrepid and I recall Max Kellerman commenting that he did not like the cumulative damage Beethaeven was taking and that he hoped ?he (Bee) would survive the fight and come out okay.? Later, of course, Bee died from said damage. Poster lionel123ification wrote, ?THE GUY WAS TAKING SOME BIG SHOTS, BUT STILL HAD HIS ARMS UP TO DEFEND, KINDA HARD FOR THE REF TO STOP IT, ESPECIALLY IN 2001?.. AND I AGREE THE CORNER MEN SHOULD THROW THE TOWEL IN.? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E96UK4vBb_s
2006
When Oscar Diaz fought Golden Johnson in November 2006, he was stopped in the 11th round in a fight in which many observers wondered what part of a white towel did Diaz?s corner not understand. As it was, Johnson ended up putting a terrible and bloody beating on Diaz before referee Ruben Carrion halted the slaughter.
More recently (in December 2013), this same thing happened to Glen Tapia when his corner proved braver than their charge as James Kirkland pummeled Tapia from pillar to post in Atlantic City and managed to get in one last (free) shot that separated Glen from his senses.
2007
?Referee, stop the fight, referee, stop the fight.??Teddy Atlas
On March 2, Nate Campbell did some things to Ricky Quiles at the A La Carte Event Pavilion in Tampa, Florida that were difficult to watch. In the 10th round, he hurt Quiles with three consecutive hard rights to the head. As the punches rained down, Ricky was barely able to remain upright. Nate then went downstairs and rocked Quiles with a series of withering body shots that had his opponent gasping and spinning away in full retreat. Campbell relentlessly unloaded still another volley of body shots. He had Ricky wobbling across the ring with only the ropes to keep him up. At the end of that ultraviolent round, Quiles? corner or the referee, Jorge Alonso, should have rescued him from himself. Ricky Quiles became nothing more than target practice and allowing it to continue proved absolutely nothing and did no one any good. If anything, it probably ended the veteran?s career.
2010
?Apparently for referee Arthur Mercante Jr., the phrase ?throwing in the towel? doesn?t equate to surrender or acknowledgment of defeat, but instead means ?I get to do whatever I want!???Jake Emen
?I usually defend referees?It?s a hard job. And to be honest; I don?t like to say things that upset officials because they might hold it against me down the road. But I?ll talk about this because it was horrible. I don?t think I?ve ever seen a referee do a job that bad.??Emanuel Steward
?It?s not a hard concept to grasp. If a fighter is hurt and his chief second wants to stop the fight, the referee should stop the fight. People can agree or disagree with me. But that?s how I feel, and I feel very strongly about it.??Thomas Hauser http://www.secondsout.com/columns/thomas-hauser/an-appalling-end-to-foreman-cotto
On June f, Yuri Foreman fought Miguel Cotto and referee Mercante?s handling of this one left many fans and writers shaking their heads in bewilderment. In fact, after Foreman had obviously suffered a bad injury to his knee, non-doctor Mercante told him to ?walk it off, kid, suck it up, kid.?And then he actually instructed him how to move around the ring by saying, ?go the other way.? Mercante was apparently caught between a referee?s responsibility to protect a boxer and his desire to see a fighter get a fair opportunity to win a title match. The traditional way of the corner throwing the towel in the ring is surprisingly illegal in New York, according to section 210.17 of the NYSAC laws and rules regulating boxing. And NYSAC chairwoman Melvina Lathan said that she supports Mercante 100% and that everything he did was within the commission?s rules. But Tim Smith of the NY Daily News said, ?Did Mercante make the right call? No. He got caught up in the enormity of the situation and overstepped his authority.? See: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/referee-arthur-mercante-jr-center-controversy-yuri-foreman-corner-threw-towel-article-1.184072
Smith also said, ?Mercante chose to disregard a towel thrown into the ring from Foreman?s corner in the eighth round ? it is the international signal for stopping a fight, just not the way to do so in this state [New York] ? but he also ignored pleas from the champion?s corner to end it, raising the question of whether a referee should have sole authority to stop a bout.? Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTDAzQAo6Qg
2011
?In the seventh, Holm was absolutely, 100% being demolished by Mathis, and was at one point out on her feet and being held up only by the ropes.??Scott Christ
When Holly Holm lost by KO to Anne Sophie Mathis (26-1) of France in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly was lucky to leave the ring alive. The real savagery began in the sixth round, when normally solid referee Rocky Burke wrongly called a clear and brutal knockdown of Holm a slip. Holly then received a nonstop onslaught from Mathis and was saved by the bell. On ?Queer Street,? Holm wobbled back to her corner like a drunk as the crowd shouted ?Holly, Holly.? The fight should have been stopped then and there, but she nevertheless went out for the seventh stanza. She then absorbed incredible punishment and ended up like a semiconscious rag doll with only the ropes to keep her up. The referee then untangled Holm from the ropes and instead of stopping the slaughter allowed the eager Mathis to render a molar-rattling KO that left Holly unconscious.
Holly Holm had not lost since 2004. In that one her corner threw in the towel on cuts. They should have thrown in the towel in this one as well.
2013
Seventeen-year-old Tubagus Sakti collapsed and died following his debut pro bout in Jakarta in January. He was rushed to hospital after suffering convulsions following his eighth round TKO defeat at the hands of Ical Tobida. Sakti raised both his hands in the air rather than taking a knee, clearly unable to carry on with the fight but his opponent managed to land a few more flush blows to Sakti?s head before referee Gondolbus Borlak could stop the fight. Doctors at the Universitas Kristen Indonesia Hospital were unable to save Tubagus. The cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage, but whether it was caused by those last three blows will never be known..
Russian Roulette: Part One Russian Roulette: Part Two Russian Roulette: Part Three
Ted Sares is a private investor who enjoys following and writing about boxing, and considers himself an advocate for reform. A member of the Elite Powerlifting Federation, Ted actively competes in the sport throughout the US and Eastern Canada and holds several state records for his age class.
