HOW I EARNED US$100 AS ?BONUS?
Boxing?s ?mandatory standing eightcount? in world championship fight
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 18 Feb 2008
When the ?mandatory standing 8 count? in professional boxing was still in effect, I was among the last referees to administer it in a world championship fight 12 years ago, modesty aside.
This was on February 17, 1996 in Chonburi, Thailand when I refereed the 12-round WBF super-flyweight championship fight between champion Samson Elite Gym (also known as Samson 3-K Battery and Samson Dutchboygym) and Mexican challenger Genaro ?Poblanito? Garcia.
Samson (43-0, 36 KOs), Thailand?s most charismatic world champion until his retirement on April 19, 2002 at age 30, decked the visitor from Puebla, Mexico with a barrage of head and body blows in the 7th canto.
Sensing the fight no longer was sport, I automatically pulled the plug and declared Samson winner by technical knockout (TKO).
Three rounds earlier, I gave Genaro a mandatory standing eight count after Samson trapped him in the ropes and threatened to blow away the space between Genaro?s ears with a series of damaging uppercuts and hooks.
Genaro survived Samson?s homicidal onslaught but finished the 4th round in wobbly legs.
Top photo: Alex P. Vidal signs the tape of Samson's hand before the start of the world title fight.
Samson engages Garcia in a phonbooth brawl while referee Alex P. Vidal watches (Feb. 17, 1996).
When I collected the scorecards of the three judges?the late Don Marks (Australia), Jaffar (Indonesia), a Thai judge--and submitted it to fight supervisor, WBF Asia Pacific Rim representative and now vice president Jack Rennie, who sat beside then WBF president Ron L. Scalf (Tennessee, USA), he gave a thumbs up sign indicating his approval of the mandatory standing 8 count.
In the sixth round, Samson, fighting like a full gasoline tank, again pulverized the then 19-year-old Genaro with ear-piercing shots in the jaw and in the midsection.
I thought of stopping the carnage but Genaro showed some signs of life as he quickly used dizzying lateral movements to avoid Samson?s laser-laced fists while punching his way out from harm?s way.
Genaro was good for another round.
After I terminated the fight in the 7th round, Supervisor Rennie approached me while on my way to the dressing room and handed over a US$100 bill. ?You deserve a bonus for a job well done. Those two mandatory standing eight counts showed that you were decisive,? said Rennie who immediately informed President Scalf of the ante.
The WBF rules then allowed the referee to impose a ?mandatory standing 8 count? for a fighter who was still on his feet despite absorbing an avalanche of heavy blows in any round.
A mandatory standing eight count is a rule in amateur boxing.
In imposing the WBF rule, the referee had the sole discretion whether or not to halt the action and declare the besieged boxer a loser by TKO if he felt that he had suffered punishment too many or to allow him to continue but give him a time to recuperate by administering the mandatory standing 8 count if he felt he was still in the fistic game.
This rule once had sparked some controversy especially that the other world boxing bodies then like the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) did not observe it.
Under the unified rules, a boxer can be given only a mandatory eight count if, after being hit with legal blows, any part of his body down to his legs touches the canvas.
And if he fails to beat the mandatory count after being dropped by a legitimate punch or punches, he loses the bout by knockout.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Alex P. Vidal.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Kevin Brown and Yoenis Tellez Shine at Boxlab Promotions’ “Night of Champions XIII” During the 104th Annual WBA Convention
Tue, 16 Dec 2025TRAINING CAMP NOTES: Justin Cardona Shares Insights Ahead of December 19 Showdown Against Avious Griffin
Tue, 16 Dec 2025JAS MATHUR JOINS MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS AS CEO TO LEAD STRATEGIC VISION, CREATIVITY AND GLOBAL GROWTH INITIATIVES
Tue, 16 Dec 2025Split-T Management Signs Amateur Standout Adrian Salazar
Tue, 16 Dec 2025INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME REMEMBERS CANASTOTA’S MANAGER / TRAINER / PROMOTER TONY GRAZIANO
Mon, 15 Dec 2025Catubig, Prado win Suy Foods Santa Run
By Lito delos Reyes, Mon, 15 Dec 2025Junior, Youth and Elite Divisions Awarded on Final Day of 2025 USA Boxing National Championships
Mon, 15 Dec 2025Jean Henri Lhuillier Applauds Cebuana Lhuillier Ambassadors for Bronze Finish at SEA Games 2025
Mon, 15 Dec 2025NOEL MIKAELIAN DETHRONES BADOU JACK TO BECOME THE NEW WBC CRUISERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Dec 2025FM Alekhine Nouri tops Kamatyas chessfest
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Dec 2025Dante Kirkman Dominates DePriest Johnson in Unanimous Victory at Fight Club OC
Sun, 14 Dec 2025Bantam and Intermediate Divisions Crowned on Day Five of 2025 USA Boxing National Championships
Sun, 14 Dec 2025Murat Gassiev Brutally Knocks Out Kubrat Pulev in Dubai
By Dong Secuya, Sat, 13 Dec 2025United States Air Force Paralegals: Law, Order, and Excellence
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, Sat, 13 Dec 2025OFFICIAL WEIGHTS AND RUNNING ORDER FOR PACHECO VS SADJO IN STOCKTON
Sat, 13 Dec 2025