Boxing

If You Think You Have Too Many Friends... Become A Boxing Referee!

08.04 - We know them better than we know many fighters. Without them we couldn’t have the whole sport in as advanced level as we have today. Yet, if they are ever mentioned in reviews of fights, for 95 % all the feedback they get is negative. We all know fighting is difficult, but it seems that being a respected and well-accepted referee is even more difficult.

The old saying which claims that a good referee is a one who you don’t see holds still. More often than not however referees are noticed and their actions are complained about during the bout and especially after it. I have listed some categories were the so-called failed or ‘biased’ referees are placed after fights. That is, what went wrong with their job.

Meticulous (”The referee didn’t let them fight!”)

Actually, if the rules were followed strictly, every referee should be like this. Clinching and wrestling are forbidden, pushing your opponent with your arm is prohibited as well as back-handing or head-butting. Now, if the referee would interfere every time he sees a minor foul, what would happen? From the recent history, Chris Byrd would certainly have been disqualified against Holyfield for breaking the rules continuously (back-hands). Holyfield in turn would have been disqualified for butting more than once. Felix Trinidad used a lot of pushing to create room for himself. Actually this demonstrates how hard it is to make the decisions. A referee who would follow the rules as mentioned above would not be refereeing again.

Example of a referee who is often accused for this: Jay Nady

Nonchalant (“This is no street-fighting!”)

These are the refs that do not want to interfere. They want to let the fighters fight and are not nit-picking about every rule and thusly we might see holding and hitting, continuous head-butts, rabbit-punching and elbowing. As a result, we have seen fighters been knocked out and losing fights with illegal moves and boxing matches turning into ugly brawls. It is something that many in the audience want to see but it is unfair for the boxers who expect the fight to go under rules.

Example of a referee who is often accused for this: Arthur Mercante jr.

Humane (“That damn ref jumped in too quickly!)

This is one of the things that creates the most argument afterwards and which can ruin referees reputation forever. We all remember how Richard Steele stopped the match-up between Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez when there was just two second left in the fight which Taylor would have otherwise won. The main job of a referee is to take care of the fighters’ health but he also has to let fighters try as long as they are capable of. Steele was never really forgiven for not letting Taylor continue even though all he did was his duty. A referee who is not afraid of audience’s response when making his decisions should get some respect but he often does not.

Example of a referee who is often accused for this: Richard Steele

Sadistic (“That maniac wants somebody to get killed!”)

The opposition of the last one. The referees who let the fights go on even though the result is evident usually don’t get criticized. As long as nothing bad happens for either that is. This can lead to some real tragedies, with Nigel Benn – Gerald McCellan being maybe the saddest example. The biggest difference compared to the last group is that whereas the too quick stoppers can do harm mostly to their own reputations, the too slow ones do harm for the fighters health. So even though the former ones are more often in the eye of the storm afterwards, they usually are big enough for their job. The too-slow referees are the most dangerous guys inside the ring.

Example of a referee who is often accused for this: Frank Cappucino

Bigger than the game (“Is this a fight or a one-man circus?”)

These referees are usually ones that have at first been respected ones but who after gaining some reputation are willing to lead the fight too much. Of course the referee should be in command but when he is the most visible man in the ring, then there is something wrong. As I said earlier, a referee is good if you don’t notice him. The third men who continuously stop the action just to talk to the fighters (about rules etc.), are too worried about how is the Vaseline on a fighter’s face and so on have grown too big for the sport.

Example of a referee who is often accused for this: Mills Lane

Prejudiced (“That guy has bet on the other man!”)

These are the referees who settle to the meticulous category for one fighter and to the nonchalant for the other. This is one of the worst errors a referee can do yet it is still pretty common. A strict or a loose line of refereeing is usually acceptable as long as it is the same for both fighters. Sometimes the third man however is too aware about dirty tactics that a certain fighter may use and thusly he keeps an eye on him while forgetting the other. This is an error that can even decide fights.

Example of a referee who is often accused for this: Eddie Cotton

What should be remembered about these categories that they all are subjective. A totally biased referee can look totally okay for another spectator. So just like they have to make decision on how they see it, we also have our own way to look things. The referees job seems to be a lot about making compromises. You are damned if you do something, you are damned if you don’t. The referees have a great responsibility inside the ring and thusly we are allowed to expect professionalism from them. However, they do a lot of good work that does not get its proper respected.

Comments/questions: janneromppainen@hotmail.com

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