By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Larry Hazzard is as eager to see Mayweather-Pacquiao as anyone.
One of boxing’s most respected regulators will watch the long-awaited welterweight title fight from a different vantage point, though. Above all else, New Jersey’s boxing commissioner hopes nothing controversial happens when the sport’s two biggest stars collide Saturday night at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO/Showtime Pay-Per-View; $99.95 in HD; 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
After all the positive publicity the sport has received recently because Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) will finally fight, Hazzard realizes the last things boxing needs is controversial scoring if the scheduled 12-rounder goes the distance and/or mistakes made by referee Kenny Bayless.
“Boxing has taken center stage once again, like it was in past years,” said Hazzard, a top referee before he became commissioner of New Jersey’s State Athletic Control Board in 1985. “With this Mayweather-Pacquiao fight taking place at this critical juncture, it has done a great deal for the sport. There’s renewed interest. Everyone wants to know who’s going to win. This fight is the greatest bit of advertising we’ve gotten for the sport in many, many years. So officiating becomes very, very important, especially in this bout.
“As the confidence in our sport is beginning to build up again, we don’t need officials to go in and screw it up and cause controversy. It’s very, very important that everyone comes away from this bout satisfied, in terms of who won and who lost. That’s very critical because if that doesn’t happen it’s only going to make people feel once again that they don’t have confidence in the sport and they don’t have confidence in the officials. And believe me, you still have a certain part of the population that still feels boxing is corrupt.”
Hazzard has faith in Bayless and the three judges the Nevada State Athletic Commission has assigned to score Mayweather-Pacquiao (Burt Clements, Glenn Feldman and Dave Moretti). He just hopes those four officials perform at their best with millions more people watching boxing than usual Saturday night.
“We all have a chance to shine now with this Pacquiao-Mayweather fight,” Hazzard said. “There will be millions of people watching this bout from around the world. It’s very, very important that the officiating be on point. The referee is always someone that seems to be in the spotlight, but the judges are very critical in this because they are the ones who render the decision. That’s where the sport is going to be judged. I really hope these officials understand the critical task that they have in front of them on Saturday.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
