LAS VEGAS \u2013 For boxing referees and judges, some of the most memorable bouts of the past 25 years have served as some of the most valuable teaching points to advance the sport into the next quarter century.<\/p>\n
At Friday\u2019s boxing portion of the national Combat Sports Summit, sequences from the Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward trilogy, the first Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez bout and Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr were highlighted as ways the sport can make strides to be viewed with more competency and transparency.<\/p>\n
Referring to the Association of Boxing Commissions\u2019 manual as an evolving \u201cliving\u201d document, recently retired referee Jack Reiss told summit attendees to consider rules as guidelines and to lean into common sense and fairness to best display professionalism as instantaneous and widespread mainstream and social media coverage\/criticism hovers over the most volatile decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no place to hide anymore as a boxing referee \u2026 the criticism is by your name,\u201d Reiss told attendees. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have broad shoulders, you\u2019re not going to last in this game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reiss, now working as a judge and video replay official for the California State Athletic Commission, pointed to the response to the controversial Davis-Roach draw in March as an example of the embrace of immediate improvements the sport should strive for.<\/p>\n
In that bout, Roach landed a ninth-round power right that caused Davis to drop to a knee in front of New York referee Steve Willis. Instead of ruling it a knockdown as he should have, Willis allowed the favored WBA lightweight champion Davis to walk to his trainer for a towel to wipe his eye and the absence of a 10-8 round allowed Davis to keep his belt and remain unbeaten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got rid of the old thinking and revitalized the manuals \u2026 in the Gervonta Davis fight, we couldn\u2019t find it written anywhere that when you take a knee voluntarily, it\u2019s a knockdown. It\u2019s always been the policy most everybody always used, but now it\u2019s in writing,\u201d Reiss said. \u201cNow there\u2019s no question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another ninth round \u2013 pulled from the epic series of brawls between Gatti and Ward in the early 2000s \u2013 has shifted the way referees should treat fights, Reiss said. In that scene, Gatti was getting brutally hammered by Ward and was effectively out on his feet as the fight was allowed to proceed.<\/p>\n
Ward says he suffers from CTE. Gatti is dead, but reportedly struggled before that through neurological issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to stop [that] fight in today\u2019s age. We sanction competitive bouts. When the bout is no longer competitive, we get the guy out of there. We didn\u2019t do that back in the day. It was savage. It\u2019s not savage anymore. We\u2019ve got science behind us, unbelievable ringside physicians who\u2019ve taught us stuff,\u201d Reiss told BoxingScene. \u201cYesterday\u2019s solutions don\u2019t solve today\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur job is not to protect the fighter from harm. We are there to protect them from unnecessary harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they are too tough for their own good, when they can no longer intelligently defend themselves, when the corner should be throwing in the towel, or the promoter shouldn\u2019t have put them in there, we\u2019re there. We\u2019re trying to cut this off. I don\u2019t want anyone dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reiss doesn\u2019t believe the sport\u2019s entertainment value will be compromised by such measures, especially as boxing takes steps to improve accountability and adeptness from its arbiters and thus address the countless controversies that have beset the sport over time.<\/p>\n
Some of the major efforts are being eyed in judging.<\/p>\n
Reiss touched on the basics of scoring \u2013 that effective punching is more important than the quantity of the punches, that punches delivered with the knuckles leading are telling, that punches to the arm or shoulder usually aren\u2019t, that exchanges are key to observe.<\/p>\n
Judges should not be overly influenced by what happens in the late-going of a round to eliminate the action earlier in the round. They should stay in the moment, maintain a constant judging schedule, calculate a running scorecard in their heads, know that blood on a fighter shouldn\u2019t necessarily influence the score since some people cut easier than others and understand how judging is different from watching for recreation.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t confuse activity with effectiveness,\u201d Reiss re-emphasized.<\/p>\n
Veteran MMA referee John McCarthy described fight judging as one of the most difficult endeavors that exist, advising that judges seek constructive advice from their peers, with Reiss saying, \u201cPut your pride in your pocket,\u201d to embrace such candid conversations.<\/p>\n
To close Friday\u2019s session, judges were shown videos of several hectic rounds to score. One included four combined knockdowns and two one-point deductions for excessive holding.<\/p>\n
When many of the judges\u2019 scores were returned incorrectly, McCarthy took to detailing how the correct 8-6 score was reached and he emphasized how important it is to have this tattooed in the knowledge bank, reminding that litigation over a flawed card is possible.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One judging development is connected to the inactive first round of the popular Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano super-lightweight title rematch in which Taylor landed the only punch of the round.<\/p>\n
Reiss said the push is to eliminate 10-10 rounds even in ultra-competitive or no-action bouts, calling a 10-10 score \u201cunacceptable\u201d in Friday\u2019s session.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attending the meeting, California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer Andy Foster spoke up to say, \u201cAnyone turning in a 10-10 card after three minutes should not expect a call back from any executive officer in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond that, Reiss says the ABC wants its judges to more liberally award 10-8 rounds in cases when a fighter decisively wins a round. It\u2019s routinely 10-8 in a round that includes one knockdown.<\/p>\n
Separately, the WBC is pushing American and British commissions to institute both a five-judge panel and a scoring system that can categorize rounds as \u201cextreme-decisive,\u201d \u201cdecisive,\u201d \u201cmoderate\u201d or \u201cclose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe five judges is a great and easy thing to do, but [in] the U.S., and U.K., it will be hard to introduce,\u201d WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told BoxingScene Friday. \u201cResistance to change is the mortal enemy of boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sulaiman has used the enhanced scoring system in his WBC Grand Prix with what he called \u201cgreat success.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipate two to three years of trials and then, hopefully, it will be used as the new scoring system in world-championship fights,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s consistent with the ABC push for more judging expertise.<\/p>\n
For instance, when Pacquiao knocked down Marquez three times in the first round of their 2004 first bout, one judge errantly scored the round 10-7 for Pacquiao instead of the appropriate 10-6 score, a detail that made the result a draw and deprived Pacquiao of victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sport\u2019s more advanced now. The public can see everything. You get to grow as a referee because you get to see yourself named \u2013 by a network or the call by people to make yourself better \u2026 we\u2019re bringing everyone into the 21st century,\u201d Reiss said.<\/p>\n
He stopped short of saying that commission officials will be empowered to correct flawed scorecards on the spot before they are finalized, saying the judge\u2019s knowledge of the state\u2019s scrutiny of their work should be enough incentive to provide accurate scoring.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t accept [slippage] anymore,\u201d Reiss said.<\/p>\n
The advent of instant replay in boxing gives officials another opportunity to get it right, although that escaped replay official Reiss in May when title contender Charly Suarez cut super-featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and stopped the fight \u2013 a technical decision that Navarrete won.<\/p>\n
Yet, replays couldn\u2019t be reviewed in a reasonable time to establish if the cut was caused by a head butt or punch. Navarrete retained his belt and negotiated his way out of a WBO-ordered rematch with Suarez, who indeed cut Navarrete with a punch and should have won the bout.<\/p>\n
Despite that scenario, the effort to get it right must occur, Reiss said<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get everyone to embrace modern technology,\u201d Reiss said. \u201cWe have it. You [reporters] use it against us. We have to use it: Go to a replay, get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reiss was the referee in another California bout that produced rules clarification \u2013 when light-heavyweight Joe Smith Jnr knocked Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins out of the ring at the Forum in 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen fighter A knocks Fighter B out of the ring, like Joe Smith did to Bernard Hopkins, and fighter B falls through the ropes onto the apron, the apron\u2019s still considered to be in the ring,\u201d Reiss said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be up by 10 and on your way back to the ring. If not, you\u2019re counted out. If he gets in the ring before the 10 count, he gets a mandatory 18 count for assessment. A lot of guys don\u2019t know this, but it\u2019s been in the rules for two years. We want knowledge and practical applications of the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reiss told the group that referees should consider themselves branch managers, aware of all potential issues in and around the ring, providing an in-control but not \u201ccop-mentality\u201d attitude with the fighters while working in a high-risk, low-frequency setting where an abundance of unpredictable matters can transpire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the things you need to be proficient at,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n
Reiss showed a series of fight videos, providing commentary of the officiating missteps in an educational tone.<\/p>\n
Whether these edicts take hold in boxing officiating globally is challenging given the shady reputation of the sport.<\/p>\n
Still, California commission head Foster said efforts like this gathering can help.<\/p>\n
\u201cChange happens incrementally, but it needs to happen,\u201d Foster told BoxingScene. \u201cI would argue 30 years from now [boxing] will look different, and hopefully we\u2019ll have put some of these things into effect that will make the sport safer and better than it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reiss is persistent in a push that also includes re-thinking the handling of fights when a winner has clearly emerged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a fighter is off that night or is getting shellacked \u2013 there comes a time you can\u2019t win mathematically and no longer have a puncher\u2019s chance \u2013 we should be looking to stop the fight when the guy\u2019s just looking to survive,\u201d Reiss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get them out of there when they are no longer competitive. Activity does not mean competitiveness. And as a referee, as a doctor, you need to realize this long before the fans realize it. You\u2019re not just sitting there.<\/p>\n
\u201cFighters don\u2019t like that, and we know father-trainers seem to never throw in the towel on their sons, and the sons never quit in front of their fathers, but we get to send that guy home to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of that strategy has to do with the referee \u201cselling the fight,\u201d dealing with events as they transpire, such as the treatment of a diminishing fighter by advising, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to show me something,\u201d or \u201cAre you OK?\u201d<\/p>\n
Decisiveness is key.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be a deer in the headlights, don\u2019t be in a rush,\u201d Reiss told the officials.<\/p>\n
He additionally emphasized the idea of \u201cgetting the assignment\u201d praising Florida referee Chris Young for his work handling the unique event of last month\u2019s knockout victory by two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua over YouTuber Jake Paul.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris Young \u2018got the assignment,\u2019\u201d Reiss said. \u201cJake Paul, by holding on to Joshua\u2019s legs, reverted to his childhood, like he was fighting on the playground. He was surviving. And Young called him on it,\u201d scolding Paul that this was \u201cnot what the fans paid for.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Paul remained upright, the entertainment ensued \u2013 Joshua\u2019s crushing sixth-round right hand that broke Paul\u2019s jaw in two places.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake\u2019s now paid his dues,\u201d Reiss said.<\/p>\n
Whether the day-long session that opened the sport\u2019s next quarter century will advance it beyond the scandals that have dropped boxing from its former heights of popularity remains to be seen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we accomplished in making you think \u2013 that it\u2019s about far more than just you and the two fighters in that ring,\u201d Reiss told the attendees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2013 For boxing referees and judges, some of the most memorable bouts of the past 25…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,1920,6653,2623,85],"class_list":["post-404740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-news","tag-boxingscene","tag-las-vegas","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}