Usually, the selection of judges for a big fight in Nevada is a
relatively easy task.
A list of potential candidates is presented to the commission,
the executive director makes his recommendations, and the commission
approves the selection. It normally takes all of 30 seconds.
But with a controversial history having shrouded the three
previous Las Vegas fights between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel
Marquez, the selection of officials for their fourth meeting on Dec.
8 at the MGM Grand Garden has received heightened interest.
Today's Nevada Athletic Commission meeting agenda includes the
selection of officials for the fourth go-round between Pacquiao and
Marquez, and both camps are concerned about the use of Nevada
judges.
Marquez has demanded that no local judges be used after he has
come out on the short end of all three fights, each of which went to
the scorecards to determine the outcome. Their first meeting on May
8, 2004, at the MGM ended in a 12-round draw. Their rematch on March
15, 2008, at Mandalay Bay saw Pacquiao awarded a 12-round split
decision. Their most recent meeting on Nov 12, 2011, at the Grand
Garden saw Pacquiao win a 12-round majority decision.
Pacquiao has had his share of judging controversy outside the
Marquez fights. Pacquiao was the loser by split decision against
Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9 in a fight many observers believe he
won convincingly. In the wake of what happened against Bradley,
Pacquiao said he would like to see someone from outside the state
judge this fight.
"Not all the judges from Vegas are bad," Pacquiao said. "But for
this fight, we should look at using some judges from outside of
Vegas."
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who has worked Pacquiao's
corner for years, said a fair compromise would be to spread it
around.
"They should have one Vegas judge, one American judge and one
international judge," Roach said. "That would be fine with us. But
I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm not concerned about the
judges. I'm very concerned."
To that end, NAC executive director Keith Kizer has carefully
vetted the list of candidates he will present to the five-member
commission panel this morning. The list includes 11 potential
candidates, including Adalaide Byrd, Dick Houck and Ricardo Ocasio
from Nevada. Four out-of-state judges are on the list - Gary Merritt
of Indiana, Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey, Mike Ross from Florida and
John McKaie from New York.
The four international judges under consideration are Stanley
Christodoulou from South Africa, John Keane from Great Britain,
Jurgen Langos from Germany and Anek Hongkongkam from Thailand.
Who Kizer will recommend remains to be seen. But in the past
three Pacquiao-Marquez fights, officials from outside Nevada have
been used. In the first meeting, John Stewart of New Jersey and Guy
Jutras from Montreal were ringside. In the 2008 rematch, Ohio's Tom
Miller was chosen to judge.
Kizer also will avoid using Nevada judges who have worked any of
the previous Pacquiao-Marquez fights. That means he didn't consider
Dave Moretti, Robert Hoyle and Glenn Trowbridge, who worked the 2011
fight; Jerry Roth and Duane Ford, who worked the 2008 fight; and
Burt Clements, who judged the 2004 fight.
In light of the controversy surrounding Pacquiao's loss to
Bradley, C.J. Ross was not considered to work Pacquiao-Marquez even
though she hadn't worked any of their three previous fights. Ross
ruled in favor of Bradley against Pacquiao in June.
"Whenever there's a rematch, ... I try not to use the same judges
for two reasons," Kizer said. "One, it makes sense to have a fresh
set of eyes. Two, we don't want the fighters worrying about what one
judge did in a previous fight."
When the fight was made a couple of months ago, Roach said he was
convinced Pacquiao would be behind by three rounds before the
opening bell given the controversy of his prior wins over Marquez.
He since has backed off on that premise. But Roach remains
concerned.
The NAC meeting, which is open to the public, is set for 8 a.m.
at the Sawyer Building, West Washington Avenue and Las Vegas
Boulevard. Any discussion or deliberation as well as the vote to
approve the officials is done in front of those in attendance.
"It's a totally transparent process," Kizer said. "I've sent the
list of possible officials to both fighters, and so far I have not
heard from either camp objecting to anyone on the list."
* 50 CENT LICENSE - Also on the agenda for the NAC meeting is the
application by rap star 50 Cent for a promoter's license in Nevada.
SMS Promotions, which is run by 50 Cent, whose given name is Curtis
Jackson, has several fighters under contract, including world
featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, who is fighting on the
Pacquiao-Marquez undercard.
"We have all the information that we have requested for Mr.
Jackson's application, and it's my understanding he will be at the
meeting to answer any questions," Kizer said.
