by David P. Greisman
The referee for the May 4 welterweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather and Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will be Robert Byrd.
Byrd was selected at the April 8 meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The other candidates to be the third man in the ring for that bout were Kenny Bayless, Vic Drakulich and Tony Weeks.
The judges, meanwhile, will be Duane Ford and Jerry Roth of Nevada, and Julie Lederman of New York.
The other candidates to score that bout were Burt Clements, Richard Houck, Patricia Morse Jarman, C.J. Ross and Glenn Trowbridge of Nevada, Don Griffin of Texas, and Michael Pernick of Florida.
There were no objections to these names from either fighter’s camp.
Byrd has not been the referee for any of Mayweather’s previous fights, according to BoxRec.com. That website shows Byrd as being the ref in Guerrero’s 2006 fight with Orlando Salido and his 2003 stoppage win over Jose Luis Tula.
Roth has been a judge for six Mayweather fights, including his 115-113 scorecard for Mayweather against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, and a 115-111 scorecard for Mayweather’s first win over Jose Luis Castillo in 2002, according to BoxRec.com. Ford is listed as having judged Mayweather’s stoppage win over Sharmba Mitchell in 2006.
Roth was a judge in Guerrero’s 2010 technical knockout of Roberto Arrieta, and Lederman was part of the panel that unanimously saw Guerrero’s win over Andre Berto last year as being by a tally of 116-110.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com