"Going to Scorecards Shouldn't Be Scary"

Read this article in my local newspaper today. Going to Scorecards Shouldn't Be Scary David A. Avila 10:00 PM PST on Monday, February 15, 2010 By DAVID A. AVILA Special to The Press-Enterprise Not all prizefights end with a knockout. That's when judges and referees are most crucial. The California State Athletic Commission meets next Monday at the State Building in Los Angeles to discuss selecting new ring officials for boxing and mixed martial arts. Also, the new executive officer will be formally introduced and boxer Antonio Margarito figures to be reinstated from suspension. A fight between professional fighters can involve a few hundred dollars to a few million dollars, and the results can influence a fighter's future income. So why not have regular evaluations for judges? Why not have penalties or rewards for judges who are paid to give their assessment of a match? Why are the same poor judges still working? The same can be said of referees. They have the power to stop a fight, halt the action, declare a knockdown or determine whether a cut has been caused by accident, or declare a mismatch. A referee for a prizefight is the most powerful official in sports. So why are poor referees not penalized or retired if unable to perform to high standards? And why are some referees not rewarded with premium television fights for a job well done? A number of referees and judges spoke on these same issues at the most recent public meeting for CSAC. Ray Corona, who judges and referees boxing, has never been assigned to a world title fight and seldom gets assignments for television fights. "When am I going to get on a world championship fight?" Corona asked the commission on Dec. 21 in Los Angeles. "All I want is to get a shot." Corona, who lives in Fontana, has been working as a judge and referee for 12 years in California. He says his criminal record and a lawsuit he filed against the state -- for endangering his life when a fighter he refereed was later deemed to have HIV -- have affected his opportunities. "Just put me in the officials lineup," Corona said. "It's always the same officials that get the title fights." Jerry Cantu is another who feels he's been passed over for the best assignments. "In 12 years I never did a title fight until six months ago," Cantu said. "I thought I paid my dues." A major reason that referees and judges have experienced problems gaining assignments is that there is no current evaluation or selection process. Marty Denkin, a former executive officer and referee, still judges prizefights and pointed out that the state did have a system but it fell through the cracks after changes in the commission. "This has been going on for 40 years," Denkin told the commission. "We have to have evaluation and classification so people can know where they stand." Denkin proposed setting up a points system on a database that indicates who has worked assignments, turned down fights, and the total amount of money earned for those assignments. A ledger he presented showed that a small number of referees got more assignments than others. One major omission not discussed was the quality of some of those officials. A number of referees and judges continue to get assignments though they repeatedly do poorly in prizefights. Adding more referees and judges for boxing and MMA is needed. And a comprehensive system to train, teach and select referees and judges is absolutely needed. "We have a lot of work to do," said Mario Rodriguez, the chair for the commission. Indeed. Thousands of professional fighters are depending on it. New Executive Officer The commission will introduce George Dodd as the new executive officer for the CSAC. Dodd, 40, who comes from the state of Washington, worked as a program manager for that state's athletic division. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he spent 20 years, and is also a former wrestler. Dood will be on hand to see if Margarito is reinstated after a one-year suspension for being caught with illegal hand wraps before his fight against Shane Mosley in January 2009.