Drakulich to Ref Ishe Smith vs. Molina; Judges Named

by David P. Greisman

The referee for the July 19 junior middleweight title fight between Ishe Smith and Carlos Molina at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will be Vic Drakulich.

Drakulich was selected at the June 28 meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission.

The other candidates to be the third man in the ring for that bout were Kenny Bayless and Jay Nady.

The judges, meanwhile, will be Dave Moretti and Glenn Trowbridge of Nevada, and Barry Druxman of California.

There were no objections to these names from either fighter’s camp.

Drakulich was the referee for one of Smith’s bouts early in his career, according to BoxRec.com: a 2002 bout against Charles Blake, which Smith won by second-round technical knockout. Drakulich is not listed as having refereed any of Molina’s fights.

Trowbridge was one of three judges who had Smith shutting out Chris Gray over six rounds in 2009, according to BoxRec.com. Druxman was one of three judges having Smith coming up short against Joel Julio in 2008. Moretti was one of three judges that had Smith winning clearly over Anthony Bonsante in 2005 for a bout that was part of the finale to “The Contender.”

Moretti was a judge for one of Molina’s fights; he had Molina ahead 88-83 when his 2012 fight with James Kirland ended by disqualification. Druxman was part of a panel of judges that had Molina clearly defeating Cedrick Armstrong by unanimous decision in 2008.

Smith, 34, won the International Boxing Federation belt in February with a majority decision over Cornelius Bundrage. He is 25-5 with 11 knockouts. Molina, 30, is coming off a February decision win over Cory Spinks and is 21-5-2 with 6 knockouts.

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