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<\/a>By Randy \u201cThe Commish\u201d Gordon<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s the end of another year. Actually, it\u2019s more than that. It\u2019s the end of the worst year we\u2019ve ever lived through. But, there\u2019s good news: Change is coming.<\/p>\n
We know change is coming to Washington. That\u2019s a welcomed certainty. With that change will also come a steady reduction of COVID-19 cases and deaths. It\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also about time state athletic\/boxing commissions look into taking complete control over the poor officiating we have been seeing more and more of.<\/p>\n
Once upon a (long) time (ago), I accepted the fact that officiating a boxing match was an inexact and highly-flawed science. That was in my pre-Ring Magazine days. Then, I moved from being the Editor-in-Chief of Ring Magazine to being the Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. Training new officials was up to me. Licensing new officials was up to me. Choosing officials for every fight in New York State was up to me.<\/p>\n
Veterans tried playing politics with me. When title fights came around in New York State and I didn\u2019t assign them to the fight, they\u2019d call everybody from their local councilman to state senators.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d also call the head of the alphabet soup organization which was sanctioning the fight and of which they were a member. The head of that organization would then call me personally. Those were interesting phone calls.<\/p>\n
The phone call would usually start off on the friendliest of notes:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you, Mr. Chairman?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is so nice to be speaking with you, Commissioner.\u201d<\/p>\n
I even got some like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is my favorite Commissioner?\u201d and \u201cYou have made my day by answering my phone call.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ugh! When the calls began like that, all I could think was, \u201cWhat in the world do they want?\u201d<\/p>\n
I quickly came to learn that, when I had a title fight on the board in my office, a call from the head of a sanctioning body meant only one thing: They wanted me to put in officials of their choosing.<\/p>\n
Those sanctioning body heads quickly learned I would not accept out-of-state officials for a fight within the borders of New York State. When they did attempt to have me accept one, they were shot down\u2014100% of the time!<\/p>\n
The sanctioning body honchos then moved to suggesting out-of-state officials to New York State officials, who were also dues-paying members of the sanctioning body. Those members basically wore the insignia of the sanctioning body tattooed on their forehead and above their heart.<\/p>\n
I chose the officials I wanted to choose. I had my A-list of officials, both in New York and around the country. I knew who would be working the fight. I knew who wouldn\u2019t. No amount of politics was going to tell me or sell me who would be the referee or judges. Again, that\u2019s because I knew who my officials were and how they approached every bout.<\/p>\n
Just because a New York State referee or judge was a dues-paying, card-carrying, convention-going member of a certain sanctioning body didn\u2019t mean he was on my A-list.<\/p>\n
On one occasion, after the head of a sanctioning body first pleaded, then argued with me about the insertion of a certain referee, the argument turned into a threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommissioner, if you don\u2019t use (Name of Official), I will be forced to pull the sanction on the fight. Please don\u2019t make me do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I told him he is never to call me again with a threat. I told him I would have a field day in the media with his threat. Then, I told him, \u201cDon\u2019t pull the sanction\u2014Pull This!\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t pull anything. The title fight went on, with all four officials being chosen by me. The sanctioning body honcho never threatened me again.<\/p>\n
The fact is, each state commission is responsible for the assignment of officials. They are not responsible for their training, however, as many state commissions barely have the budget for much more than a Commissioner or Executive Director, a secretary and an office.<\/p>\n
There are also many commissions which are politically-driven. A few Midwestern states, whose Republican governors, following the lead of our lame duck President, Donald J. Trump (who made jokes about the pandemic), didn\u2019t enforce lockdowns or even masks. They allowed combat events\u2014and post-fight parties\u2014to go on, despite the pandemic. The Athletic Commissioner in each of those states is appointed by their Governor, and none have the courage to say, \u201cThere will be no crowds allowed at any combat event. And so, the events go on with maskless crowds with no social distancing. And so does the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Because of their lack of concern and knowledge of the sport, and because of the lack of a budget, few of those states have seminars for officials.<\/p>\n
The fact is, officials need to have frequent seminars, much in the manner that doctors, lawyers, airline pilots, accountants, computer technicians and other professionals are constantly updating and refreshing their knowledge and skillset.<\/p>\n
Although lots of officials do receive updated training and refresher courses, most do not. You can see it in their performances when they judge, and you can easily see it when they ref. Can one weekend go by without there being a controversial decision or a controversial call by a referee. There\u2019s only one answer, and it\u2019s not \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n
I have said this countless times, and I will say it again: Judges hold the livelihood of the fighters in their hands. The referee holds the life of the fighter in his\/hers hands!<\/p>\n
A screwup on the cards\u2014handing the fight to the fighter who actually lost\u2014is bad. It\u2019s terrible. But it\u2019s not disastrous. That\u2019s because there are two other judges watching and scoring the same fight. Hopefully, one of the two of them are able to choose the correct winner. Split decisions are acceptable.<\/p>\n
However, when two judges score a fight for the wrong person, it is unacceptable. This is especially true when one fighter wins the bout overwhelmingly, and one or two of the judges score it egregiously out of line. At that point, it\u2019s time for that judge or those judges to try another line of work.<\/p>\n
To their credit, the Nevada State Athletic Commission sat down judge C.J. Ross after her second outrageous score in 15 months.<\/p>\n
In the first of her controversial calls, she scored the June 9, 2012, Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight 115-113 for Bradley. A second judge, Jerry Roth, considered one of the best judges ever, scored it 115-113 for Pacquiao\u2014the way most observers saw it. But when veteran judge Duane Ford scored it the same way as Ross, it took some of the heat off of her. Although the boxing world was against both her and Ford, the both of them continued to work. In fact, Ms. Ross was back in her judge\u2019s seat the following month, working a fight for the vacant IBF Middleweight Title. Ford worked for another year, several in title fights, before hanging up his scorecard and pencil after working a card on June 8, 2013\u2014one day shy of one year since his controversial scoring of Bradley-Pacquiao.<\/p>\n
As for Ms. Ross, the next 15 months were busy for her, as well. She was assigned to at least 20 shows during that time, including several title bouts.<\/p>\n
Her judging career came to a crashing end on September14, 2013, when she was assigned\u2014along with Dave Moretti and Craig Metcalfe\u2014to judge the Floyd Mayweather, JR.-Canelo Alvarez fight for the unified Super Welterweight Title fight from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Although she had worked numerous title bouts in her 21-year career, the Mayweather, JR.-Alvarez fight was the highest-profile assignment she had ever been given.<\/p>\n
Nevada\u2019s Executive Director\u2014Keith Kizer\u2014was warned by many top-level authorities about giving Ms. Ross the assignment. He thanked them all for their concern, but let Ms. Ross take a seat as one of the three judges.<\/p>\n
In a 12-round bout which went to a decision, Mayweather, JR. did everything but stop Alvarez. On the cards of Metcalfe and Moretti, Mayweather, JR. won by scores of 117-111 and 116-112, respectively. My card, watching from a ringside media seat, was identical to Metcalfe\u2019s card. In my mind, and in the minds of all the media I spoke to at ringside, Alvarez did not win more than three rounds. Even Moretti\u2019s 116-112 score for Alvarez was generous to the then-22-year-old Alvarez.<\/p>\n
C.J. Ross had the fight 114-114\u2014a draw! Afterwards, even Alvarez, when asked about Ross\u2019 card, said, \u201cMayweather, JR. won. He taught me a lot. I don\u2019t know what fight she was watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horrified of her non-sensical card, and of her questionable decision 15-months earlier, C.J. Ross resigned from her position as a boxing judge. A year later, and under tremendous flack for putting Ross in the fight, Kizer resigned as Executive Director.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s up to the commissions to keep records of every round of every fight scored by every official licensed by them. Unfortunately, most commissions do not keep such records, other than to know when the last time a judge or referee worked. That\u2019s why there are far too many questionable decisions and horrific stoppages.<\/p>\n
Should judges be \u201cpunished\u201d for turning in a scorecard which doesn\u2019t remotely resemble the fight they just watched? I believe they should. Not in close, competitive, two-sided fights should they be punished. As we well know, close fights happen quite often. But, in one-sided fights like Mayweather, JR.-Alvarez, a draw verdict is not acceptable. In the case of C.J. Ross, punishment was not necessary, because, as mentioned, she resigned.<\/p>\n
In the case of officials who do not resign or are not dismissed, the commission should deal with them this way: Make them score every fight on a practice basis on 10 local shows from a \u201cPunishment Seat\u201d at ringside\u2014without pay. Every member of the commission will come to know that seat, perhaps a different color that the surrounding seats, is being occupied by a judge who is being disciplined by the commission. Any judge who feels the punishment is too harsh has an option: Resign!<\/p>\n
One state already uses this type of punishment, and finds it very effective in keeping their judges sharp. If the day ever comes where I find myself back in charge of the NYSAC\u2014or any other commission\u2014my first order of business will be the institution of the seat no judge ever wants to sit in: \u201cThe Ross Seat,\u201d named after C.J. Ross.<\/p>\n
Whenever a judge scored a fight horrifically wrong during my years as Chairman of the NYSAC, I used to have that judge come into my office in the days following the fight, so we could review it while it was still fresh in the judge\u2019s mind. The excuses I heard as to why the judge scored a one-sided fight the wrong way ranged from unbelievable to comical to heartbreaking:<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in a fender-bender on the way to the fights,\u201d was one excuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother passed away last week, and I couldn\u2019t get my mind off of her passing\u2014and still can\u2019t!\u201d was another.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was stressful getting to the arena in this storm,\u201d was yet another.
\n\u201cI woke up with a migraine and still had it the night of the fights,\u201d came one creative excuse.<\/p>\n
Then came this excuse. After sitting through an eight-round shutout\u2014make than a boxing no-hitter\u2014two of the judges scored it 80-72 for the rightful winner. The third judge scored it 80-72 for the loser. What was his excuse?
\n\u201cI have dyslexia,\u201d was his eye-opening alibi. The judge gave every round of the fight to a boxer named Hernandez, when, in fact, his opponent, whose last name was Fernandez, actually won every round!<\/p>\n
Then, there was this classic:<\/p>\n
\u201cRight before I left for the arena, my daughter told us she was pregnant.\u201d When I said \u201cCongratulations\u201d to the judge, he said, \u201cThanks. But she doesn\u2019t even have a boyfriend!\u201d<\/p>\n
That one goes into the \u201cExcuse Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t ever let me hear you say being a Commissioner is an easy job!<\/p>\n
Dealing with referees is even tougher. That\u2019s because nearly all have egos larger than the state in which they live. Every one of them believes they are the best. The fact is, many are referees because of \u201cpolitical juice.\u201d They were aboard the commission before the current commission took over. They knew somebody, or knew somebody who knew somebody. A Councilman. A Congressman. A Senator. The Governor. Favors were called in. Yep, that\u2019s how politics often works. Very often! Too often!<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t play that game. Thankfully, neither did my boss, who was NY Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. When he swore me in as Chairman of the NYSAC, he said, \u201cThe agency is yours. Go run it!\u201d He meant what he said.<\/p>\n
When I gave assignments to officials, it made those officials very happy. It made the unassigned officials unhappy, and they tried playing their political games. It got them nowhere.<\/p>\n
Sweeping changes need to be made in officiating, not just in New York, but across the country. Judges need to improve how they view fights. They have to improve their scoring. While we all look for COVID-19 to dissipate and for boxing to return throughout the world on a fulltime basis, we also need to see a decline in the amount of head-shaking decisions which are becoming so common.<\/p>\n
As for referees, they need at least as much training as judges. They need hands-on seminars, like the Sole Arbiter classes given by veteran California officials Jack Reiss and Pat Russell.<\/p>\n
When boxing does return after the pandemic subsides, most officials\u2014outside of Nevada and California, and in states such as Florida and Connecticut, which have been running shows from casinos\u2014will have been inactive for well over a year.<\/p>\n
Officials, especially referees, need activity to stay sharp. I can tell you that, in my home state of New York, and in the surrounding states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with no boxing shows of any kind since early last March and with gyms all but locked down, referees are going to be rustier than ever.<\/p>\n
On another note is the playing-to-the-camera by many referees. Years ago, Hall-of-Fame referee Mills Lane flicked the tip of his nose with an index finger when introduced by the ring announcer. Then, after calling the fighters to the center of the ring to quickly go over the rules he had explained in detail to them an hour earlier in the dressing room and asking if either had any questions, he uttered the phrase \u201cLet\u2019s get it on!\u201d As Lane was an innovator, as well as a respected, no nonsense world-class referee, his showmanship was actually enjoyable. However, far-too-many referees have turned their assignment as third man in the ring into a made-for-TV comedy show.<\/p>\n
One New York referee\u2014Steve Willis\u2014makes theatrical faces during his time in the ring, especially after an exchange of punches or when one fighter lands a clean, hard punch.<\/p>\n
Hall-of-Fame announcer Jim Lampley, for one, loved the performance, saying it was entertaining.<\/p>\n
I, for another, loathe it.<\/p>\n
When Willis\u2014or any official\u2014makes any kind of expression after a hard punch, he or she is telling everyone\u2014including the three judges\u2014\u201cYes, that was some punch! Make sure you remember that shot when you fill out your cards at the end of the round.\u201d That face, that expression, just might be enough to sway a judge, or judges, as how to score the round, especially in a round which was close.<\/p>\n
If I was Commissioner, I would demand that Willis\u2019 theatrics cease immediately. To Willis, and other referees who love playing to the crowd, let me remind you that the crowd is there to watch the fights, not to see you perform. You don\u2019t see NFL referees doing a dance when a player makes a diving catch in the endzone\u2026you don\u2019t see a MLB umpire jumping for joy when a player hits a walk-off homerun\u2026you don\u2019t see an NBA referee celebrating when a player hits a game-winning buzzer-beater\u2026you don\u2019t see an NHL referee doing pirouettes when a player scores a hat trick. In boxing, referees are there to enforce the rules and to protect the fighters from taking unnecessary punishment. They are not there to perform and make faces.<\/p>\n
In addition, playing around during the course of action takes away a referee\u2019s concentration, as I thought happened in the December 12, 2020 WBA Super Featherweight Title fight between Chris Colbert and Jaime Arboleda, which Willis refereed from the Mohegan Sun Casino. In that fight, Colbert stopped Arboleda in the 11th round. In stopping the bout, Willis nearly fell on top of a dazed Arboleda as he stopped the contest.<\/p>\n
To every referee, I say \u201cConcentrate!\u201d It\u2019s one of the things officials Reiss and Russell teach in their valuable seminars. They do not teach how and when to make ridiculous, unnecessary, obnoxious faces.<\/p>\n
A new year is here. A new administration is headed to Washington, D.C. Hopefully, a pandemic will soon be gone.<\/p>\n
We can also hope that 2021 will be a year which sees our ring officials finally getting it right.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s really about time.<\/p>\n