Observing some of the refereeing that took place at Barclay?s recently brought to mind the fact that most of the assignments in New York under former Director David Berlin frequently seemed to go to Michael Griffin from Canada, Benjy Esteves,(from New Jersey), Connecticut?s Michael Ortega Charley Callas, and Danny Schiavone, Gary Rosato from PA, up-and-coming Harvey Dock from New Jersey, and overly-expressive and almost clown-like Steve Willis. NJ?s Steve Smoger, now a Hall of Famer, also gets his fair share.
Surprisingly, Berlin did not discontinue the curious practice of using of out-of-state referees for major fights?especially out-of-shape and/or overrated ones, bypassing, for example, New York referees like Charlie Fitch, Ricky Gonzalez, Richard Pakozdi, Eddie Claudio and Ron Lipton. Unfortunately the NYSAC has done this despite the fact reciprocity has not been practiced by commissions in other states. Even the Oneida Nation?s Turning Stone Casino uses the same referees over and over again, albeit New York ones, without any reciprocity with NYC officials. . Now that Berlin is gone, these practices remain intact suggesting a whiff of something coming up less than roses.
As Thomas Hauser recently noted, ?Refereeing a fight is one of the most difficult jobs in sports. It?s also one of the most important. Arthur Mercante and Tony Chiarantano can be forgiven for calling two knockdowns that weren?t. Sometimes a referee simply isn?t in position to clearly see a moment in time unfold. The fact that ? [Benjy] Esteves allowed Spence-Algieri to continue for as long as he did is more troubling.
This is a continuing story.
