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by David P. Greisman - It is poetic yet unfortunate that Pat Russell’s career will end in the same manner as his final fight working as a boxing referee — slightly earlier than scheduled and distracting from much of what came beforehand.
Russell had spent more than three decades as a referee and judge. Nearly all of his gigs came in California, though occasionally he traveled internationally to preside in the ring or score from ringside. He was now 67 years old and had said he would retire at the end of this year.
This past Saturday, he was assigned to the main event at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, working the headline bout on HBO between welterweights Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas. For 11 rounds, two minutes and 50 seconds, Russell was largely inconsequential, there when necessary, not too much nor too little for what was otherwise a clean and competitive bout.
That is precisely what referees seek to be: the third man in the ring not having an effect on the action provided by and attention given to the other two, the combatants. He does not want to be noticed except when needed. He is there to officiate, though not officiously.
But then Russell made a mistake — likely an honest one, though still a big one. And while it was nowhere near the worst performance by a referee this past Saturday (more on that later), it is the one that is receiving the most debate and discussion among boxing fans outside of parts of Asia. [Click Here To Read More]
Russell had spent more than three decades as a referee and judge. Nearly all of his gigs came in California, though occasionally he traveled internationally to preside in the ring or score from ringside. He was now 67 years old and had said he would retire at the end of this year.
This past Saturday, he was assigned to the main event at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, working the headline bout on HBO between welterweights Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas. For 11 rounds, two minutes and 50 seconds, Russell was largely inconsequential, there when necessary, not too much nor too little for what was otherwise a clean and competitive bout.
That is precisely what referees seek to be: the third man in the ring not having an effect on the action provided by and attention given to the other two, the combatants. He does not want to be noticed except when needed. He is there to officiate, though not officiously.
But then Russell made a mistake — likely an honest one, though still a big one. And while it was nowhere near the worst performance by a referee this past Saturday (more on that later), it is the one that is receiving the most debate and discussion among boxing fans outside of parts of Asia. [Click Here To Read More]
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