It came like a lightning bolt from nowhere. Filipino lawyer Danrex Tapdasan was all set to leave for Honolulu on a Continental Airlines flight last night when he got an e-mail cancelling his assignment as a judge in the WBO flyweight title bout between champion Julio Cesar Miranda of Mexico and challenger Brian Viloria at the Blaisdell Center on Saturday.
Tapdasan was in a state of mild shock particularly as the day before, he spoke excitedly about his assignment in a lengthy interview with The Star (refer to yesterday?s column). He wasn?t the only one scratched from the panel. The other was Robert Byrd of Las Vegas. Retaining his position was Dr. Ruben Garcia of Texas. Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez stays as third man in the ring.
?Of course, I feel badly ? I?m only human,? said Tapdasan who would?ve worked in his first major world title fight after only two years on the job. ?But I understand the dynamics of boxing, the rules of the game. No problem. These things happen. I accept the decision humbly and graciously. I?ll deal with it as a professional. My mindset is the same. I will continue to be a hard-working and humble servant of the boxing community. It was an honor to even be considered as a judge for this important fight. I know someday, my time will come and I?m looking forward to bringing honor and pride to our country when it happens.?
Tapdasan said last Friday, he was informed that the Hawaii Boxing Commission had sent a notice objecting to the composition of the judges panel to the WBO.
?There was no problem with the referee,? said Tapdasan. ?But the Hawaii Boxing Commission wanted two Hawaiian judges and one Filipino judge. Presumably, I would be the Filipino judge. Under the unified world championship rules, the local commission has territorial jurisdiction over a title fight and therefore, a say on the appointment of officials. Essentially, the commission wanted a say and if the WBO wouldn?t agree, the fight was off.?
The original plan was to stage the Miranda-Viloria duel in Manila on June 11. When that failed to materialize, it was moved to the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 4. Finally, the fight was set in Honolulu where Viloria was born. Viloria?s manager Gary Gittelsohn hinted that it took a tidy sum to convince Miranda to agree to stake his crown in Hawaii.
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The WBO didn?t immediately respond to the commission?s objection and waited for the weekend to pass. When the Miranda camp heard about what the commission wanted, the Mexicans went berserk.
?They thought they were being set up for a robbery,? said Tapdasan. ?They called it a ridiculous demand. It was like loading the dice. No way they would agree to a panel of two Hawaiians and one Filipino considering Viloria is a Hawaiian of Filipino descent. They told the WBO if that?s how the panel will be, they?d stay in Mexico and forget about the fight. Obviously, the WBO was concerned and came up with a compromise. I understand Top Rank jumped into the picture to save the show. The compromise was to appoint two judges from any country outside of Mexico or the Philippines and one judge who could be either Hawaiian or Filipino. Miranda agreed.?
Surprisingly, Byrd was replaced by another Las Vegas judge Robert Hoyle who was in the panel for Jorge Arce?s 12th round stoppage of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. to wrest the WBO superbantamweight crown in Las Vegas last May. At the time of the knockout, Hoyle saw Arce on top, 107-102, while the two other judges Burt Clements and Gary Merritt had it 104-all. Tapdasan said he has no idea why Hoyle bumped off Byrd considering they?re both from Las Vegas and qualify as ?neutral? judges.
Garcia, 64, kept his slot. He?s been a world championship judge since 1993 and was on the panel when Filipino Eric Jamili halted Mickey Cantwell for the WBO minimumweight crown in England in 1997. Miranda wouldn?t object to Garcia because he is of Mexican descent.
Tapdasan got the axe and in his place was appointed oldtimer Tamotsu Tomihara who?s been a ring official since 1968. Tomihara has been a judge in world title bouts involving the likes of Larry Holmes, Julio Cesar Chavez, Daniel Zaragoza, Bobby Chacon, Ben Villaflor, Roger Mayweather and Jeff Fenech. His boxing career dates back to when Filipino veterans Jet Parker, Ding Cabanela and Aniceto Vargas campaigned in Hawaii.
In 1982, Tomihara was a judge when Rafael (Bazooka) Limon came from behind to knock out Filipino Rolando Navarrete in the 12th round of a 15-round bout for the WBC superfeatherweight diadem in Las Vegas. Tomihara had it 107-103 for Navarrete when the end came. In 1997, Tomihara was in Manila to judge the WBC featherweight title contest between Luisito Espinosa and Manuel Medina of Mexico. Espinosa won via an eighth round technical decision at the Luneta.
Although Tomihara has solid world championship credentials, he hasn?t been involved in a major fight since Erik Morales knocked out Jose Luis Bueno in two rounds in a WBC superbantamweight title fight in Indio, California, in 1998.
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Instead of scoring the fight at ringside, Tapdasan will watch the bout on TV at home. TV5 is airing the Miranda-Viloria fight back-to-back with the Juan Manuel Marquez-Likan Ramos match this Sunday morning.
From what would?ve been a trip to heaven, Tapdasan remains on terra firma. His feet never left the ground.
Marquez, 37, had initially sought out former WBC lightweight champion and Pacquiao knockout victim David Diaz as an opponent. But Diaz reportedly priced himself out of the fight, leading Marquez to find another southpaw in his tune-up before facing Pacquiao on Nov. 12. Ramos, 25, has fought only once outside of Colombia and was knocked out by still another Pacquiao victim Jorge Solis in Mexico last year. To his credit, Ramos has won his last three outings by knockout but his record of 24-3, with 18 Kos, is deceptively impressive. Ramos has feasted on tomato cans and patsies. Marquez is expected to grind the poor Colombian down and turn him into mincemeat.
In what shape Ramos will be is a question mark. From February to October last year, he put on 10 pounds. He?s basically a superfeatherweight while Marquez is now a legitimate superlightweight trying to be a welterweight. Marquez will be bigger and stronger than Ramos. But against Pacquiao, it will be the other way around. Even as they?ve agreed to fight at a catchweight limit of 144 pounds with the WBO 147-pound title at stake, Marquez will come in much lighter than Pacquiao. Think of it. If Pacquiao could floor Marquez four times in two fights when they were superfeatherweights, imagine how much stronger the Filipino will be at a higher weight category against the blown-up Mexican.
