BAYLESS TO REFEREE PACQUIAO-BRADLEY REMATCH, BOTH CAMPS WELCOME APPOINTMENT OF TWO NON-NEVADA JUDGES
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 02 Apr 2014
In a positive effort to erase the stigma of the universally criticized decision in the first Manny Pacquiao-Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley WBO welterweight title fight in which Bradley was awarded a split decision win, the Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar responded positively to a request by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to ?eliminate any officials the two camps were wary about? and to name two judges from outside Nevada.
Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz informed the Manila Standard about the officials named shortly after it was announced by the NSAC and added ?great officials.?
Arum told the Manila Standard that he was ?very pleased? over chairman Aguilar?s decision to name veteran Kenny Bayless regarded by most as the best in the business as the third man in the ring along with judges Michael Pernick of Florida and John Keane of Britain with only veteran judge Glen Trowbridge from Nevada.
Both the camps of Pacquiao and Bradley approved the list of officials named by the NSAC unlike in the past when Keith Kizer who resigned some months ago was executive director and did what he wanted, prompting Arum to describe Kizer as ?very arrogant, very opinionated and someone who wouldn?t listen to anything.?
The Top Rank promoter told the Standard the positive response of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to suggestions ?are good for the sport. The NSAC is showing a different attitude which is welcome.?
At the same time Arum said neither camp can complain about the officials selected because both camps approved the list of five referees and nine judges the Commission chose from. He emphasized that ?neither fighter can say anything no matter what happens.?
Trowbridge, in his last assignment was a judge in the WBC super bantamweight title fight in which Leo Santa Cruz scored a unanimous twelve round decision over former world super flyweight champion Cristian Mijares last March 14. He has previously been a judge in six Pacquiao fights.
Pernick was a judge when he had Pacquiao a shutout winner over Brandon Rios last November 24 in Macau and was also a judge when Pacquiao scored a spectacular 2nd round knockout of Ricky ?The Hitman? Hatton in 2009. This will be Pernick?s third assignment as a judge in a Pacquiao fight.
Keane, one of the most accomplished judges from Britain was a judge when Pacquiao suffered a crushing 6th round knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8, 2012. Keane and the two other judges all had Pacquiao ahead 47-46 at the time of the knockout.
While none of the judges have worked a Bradley fight before, referee Bayless will be refereeing his seventh Pacquiao fight and his first with Bradley.
Photo: Referee Kenny Bayless (L) counts Sugar Shane Mosley.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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