Bruce McTavish, the third man on the ring, is keeping his fingers crossed that the fight doesn?t get bloody.
The tested referee from New Zealand said a cut caused by a headbutt, accidental or otherwise, could ruin today?s fight scheduled for 12 rounds at the Araneta Coliseum.
Manny Pacquiao and Oscar Larios have separately figured in bloody encounters, and McTavish is hoping that it won?t happen under his watch.
“You have a southpaw (Pacquiao) fighting an orthodox (Larios) so they?re quite open for a headbutt. This is the only downside of the fight,” said McTavish, a long-time resident of the Philippines.
“But this should be one of the greatest fights in history. And it?s an honor to work this one. Sure it?s an honor,” he said yesterday after witnessing the official weigh-in of both fighters.
In case of a nasty cut caused by a headbutt, McTavish said he wouldn?t hesitate to put an end to the fight.
“The doctor can make the advice then I can stop the fight. If he says to me that it?s a very dangerous cut, then I?ll stop it,” he said.
Under international rules, McTavish said the ring physician carries a red card in his pocket.
“Sometimes, because of the language confusion, ring physicians have a red card, and if he pulls it out that?s a signal for the referee to stop it,” said McTavish.
Again, he wants nothing of that red card.
McTavish added that the three-knockdown rule is not in effect, and a fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round. He said he can also stop the fight even without a knockdown.
“Rules are exactly the same with those in the United States,” he said.
