Boxing judge and referee Russell Mora has been on the receiving end of unfounded criticisms in the last few days for his controversial calls as the third man in the ring for the just-concluded Abner Mares- Joseph Agbeko title match at the Hard Rock Mora got the ire of noted Showtime boxing commentator Al Bernstein who said it was the ?the most disgraceful performance of a referee that I have seen in the past 15 years.? Nonito Donaire who is the No.3 in the current pound-for-pound ranking also called Mora a “horrible referee.’ Mora was the same referee when Donaire fought Mexican Fernando Montiel early this year via a second round KO. After a devastating knockdown, Mora allowed Montiel to resume fighting despite his wobbly legs though he later intervened to stop the fight. Some media people who witnessed the fight were one in saying the referee erred in his officiating. But Mora said he was standing by his calls even after a TV announcer showed him a video replay of the controversial calls particularly in the 11th round when Mares hit Agbeko below his belt line and awarding Mares a knockdown score. ?The punch that I saw live was a fair punch,? Mora told Showtime?s Jim Gray after watching a slow-motion replay that unequivocally showed the punch was low. ?It parried off of his glove. It was a fair punch.? Agbeko’s camp immediately called for immediate rematch and after filing a formal protest, IBF convened and made a swift verdict. The rematch order by the IBF was triggered by the apparent foul call lapses which brought embarrassing moments for referee Mora as he was repeatedly trashed by media commentators for his flawed officiating. Despite the apparent lapses in Mora’s officiating and allegations that he is a “Golden Boy referee”, Keith Kaizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) believes Mora was not corrupted or influenced by promoters in connection with the Mares-Agbeko fight. “Like most, I think Russell Mora is a very good referee, who did a subpar job last Saturday,” Kaizer said. With regards to reports that promoter Don King asked NSAC to removed Mora as referee for the fight on grounds that he is biased towards Golden Boy fighters, Kaizer said it wasn’t true. “Don King Promotions never requested that Mora be removed,” said Kizer. “Rather, Dana Jamison called me about eight days before the bout and said Don King had been told by someone that Mora was a ‘Golden Boy ref.’ She said Mr. King wanted me to know he received that comment.” On allegations that Mora is a “Golden Boy referee,” Richard Shaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said he felt insulted by those ridiculous comments. “This is really insulting and I feel insulted by that. The fact is that everybody, and I don’t care what job you are in, everybody has a bad day at the office once in a while. He had a bad day at the office. Mora who is a former New Mexico Regional and State Golden Glove Champion is a licensed referee in Nevada State and also a licensed judge and referee in New Mexico. He came from a family of boxers. His father, Richie Mora and his two brothers, Adrian and Anthony are also boxers.
