Since Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0-0) knocked out Victor Ortiz (29-3-2), voices of criticism by professionals as well as boxing fans have been abundant around every corner. Some say that Floyd Mayweather Jr. won via an illegal cheap-shot, being the dirty undeserving fighter that he is. Others agree that it was as cheap-shot, but a legal one nonetheless, making Floyd a legitimate winner no questions asked. There are also those that believe that Victor is the one to blame for his inability to follow the ancient self defense rule, as well as his inexperience and excessive ?love? towards Floyd after landing a very obvious and damaging head-butt. The drama is still at its peak, and will be discussed for a very long time to come.
What is not surprising is the amount of criticism that Joe Cortez received for his actions during the fight, causing this freak-show of an ending. In my personal opinion, after re-watching the fight numerous times, Cortez did absolutely nothing wrong at that moment in time; he signaled the commencement of the fight, and made a very well known and recognized hand gesture inviting both fighters to continue. Still, many blame him for the result, and say the fight would have had a very different outcome had he not ?screwed it up.?
Since then, the ?referee? tropics have flooded forums and discussions, where boxing fans voice their opinions and future preferences. So, what is a boxing referee?s job? A referee give instructions to both men before the bout, determines when to start or stop a count when a fighter is down or hurt, signals when the round has ended, determines when a foul has been committed and what to do about it, and decides whether the fighter is in serious danger despite still standing and attempting to fight back. Essentially, the role of a referee is very important and crucial in the well being of both fighters. Having said all that, there are choices.
