Now it can be told.
The camp of Juan Manuel Marquez tried to persuade the Nevada State Athletic Commission to retract the appointment of Joe Cortez as referee in the fight against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas last May 8.
Boxing News editor Claude Abrams revealed that “the Marquez camp was not too happy with the selection of Cortez and made attempts to have the third man?a Puerto Rican?switched because they believed, without foundation, he was biased against Mexican boxers.”
Apparently, Cortez found out about Marquez? frustrated lobby and took the extra mile to assuage the Mexican camp by showing maximum tolerance for the defending World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion during the 12-round fight.
