Who Is It That Should Protect You at All Times?
Is Boxing?s Oldest Adage Under Fire Following Floyd Mayweather?s Controversial and
Crushing KO of Victor Ortiz?
This past Saturday night, following a seemingly intentional head-butt to his mouth and conciliatory kiss and hug by ?Vicious? Victor Ortiz, Floyd (Money) Mayweather, Jr. scored a spectacular fourth round knockout which will have a permanent home in boxing infamy. While Mayweather was ripped by fans and boxing cognoscenti alike for his facially unsportsmanlike conduct, there is no real consensus as to who of the three individuals in the ring should truly bear the brunt of the post-fight firestorm. Did Ortiz get what he deserved for setting off Mayweather, who has a history of forcefully laying waste to boxers such as Diego (Chico) Corrales, Phillip (The Time Bomb) N?Dou, Ricky (Hitman) Hatton, and Arturo (Thunder) Gatti when he is facing an actively dangerous opponent? Should Mayweather be deemed the epitome of a bad sportsman for landing the two worst-intentioned punches in his career when Ortiz tried to apologize again after touching gloves? Should referee Joe Cortez have been looking away during a volatile moment in the bout? More important perhaps than any of these questions, however, is the question of whether boxing?s oldest adage, protect yourself at all times, survives a bout such as Mayweather-Ortiz and is truly the exclusive responsibility of the boxer himself anymore and not a referee. A quick analysis follows.
In Support of the Idea of a Referee Protecting the Boxer at All Times
Raise your hand if you believe that former linear light heavyweight champion Dariusz (Tiger) Michalczewski was never knocked out during his lengthy title reign. Wrong. Michalczewski was coldcocked after he and Graciano Rocchigiani were ordered to break by referee Joe O?Neill during an August 10, 1996 WBO Light Heavyweight Championship bout. The result, however, was officially a disqualification win for Michalczewski, reflecting that O?Neill felt that Michalczewski?s demise was the result of a flagrant foul by Rocchigiani. Raise your hand again if you believe that former heavyweight champion James (Buster) Douglas was the victim of only one first round knockout in his career, the one scored by Lou Savarese. Wrong again. While it officially went down as a disqualification, Douglas was crushed by journeyman Louis Monaco after the bell rang to end round one in their May 13, 1997 bout. The wrinkle is that the referee adjudged Monaco?s knockout punch to have come after the bell. In both instances, and in more notorious ones, such as Roy Jones, Jr.?s combination to Montell Griffin?s chin when he was on his knee, Riddick Bowe?s similar treatment of Buster Mathis, Jr., or Arthur Abraham?s hammering of a flopping Andre Dirrell, it was the referee alone who ultimately took charge of the boxer?s well-being and made a ruling regardless of whether the aggrieved boxers should have been protecting themselves or not. True, Mayweather?s purported indiscretion was more marginal in nature than the examples provided as it came after he and Ortiz had touched gloves, but they all reflect that the referee can, and perhaps should, commandeer the role of protecting the boxers throughout a bout, and not just when they are knocked down, cut, or are otherwise being pummeled by their opponent during the course of a given round. Indeed, the first enumerated duty of a referee under New York law is that he or she ?shall exercise immediate authority, direction and control over contests and exhibitions to which he or she has been appointed.? Part of maintaining ?authority, direction and control? is theoretically to make sure that the boxers are protected from any unanticipated attacks by their opponent after breaks, the touching of gloves, or at the end of rounds no matter what the old adage says.
