Referee Kenny Bayless is considered the best referee this side of the Mississippi. He will be the third man in the ring for the Manny Pacquiao/ Miguel Cotto fight. Let’s welcome him into the doghouse.
David Tyler – Hi Kenny, thank you for the interview. How were you chosen to be the referee for the Cotto/ Pacquiao fight?
Kenny Bayless – The executive director makes his suggestions on who he feels should be the referee for the main event and then the commissioner’s vote on the decision. They basically have us on a rotation. Depending on how good your work is and how clean it is dictates if you stay in the rotation.
DT – Do the fighters or trainers have veto power?
KB – The fighters or their camps can express their opinions but that does not necessarily mean that they get who they want. There was a time when the commission would suggest three referees or five judges that they could pick from just to let them play a part in the process, but in the end the final word comes from the commission.
DT – Is there any special preparation that you go through prior to such a mega event as the Cotto/ Pacquiao bout?
KB – I have been the referee for both of them in the past three or four years. Both fighters have been very clean when they have been in the ring with me. I have never had any problems with Cotto or Pacquiao. But I do watch video from past fights to do my homework. I also stay in shape year round so when I get the call to do an assignment like this it’s not like suddenly I’ve got to got out and start getting ready. I’m ready from fight to fight. The preparation you speak of is what I do for all my fights.
DT – You said you were familiar with both of the fighter’s styles, did you watch the Cotto/ Clottey fight in Madison Square Garden?
KB – The situation was not ideal for me because I was in the state of New York for the International Hall of Fame Inductions in Canastota. Lennox Lewis and Larry Merchant were being inducted into the hall of fame and I was at a banquet at the time of the fight. I did see the rounds periodically during the fight but I did not get the focus of watching the entire fight.
DT – Arthur Mercante Jr. did an outstanding job during the fight especially keeping Clottey focused due to some accidental “rabbit punches”, “body flips”, and low blows by Cotto, are you familiar with these style tactics?
Please read the rest of this Interview at DoghouseBoxing.
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Special thanks to Chee of Doghouse Boxing for sending this article.
Marshall N. B.
Boxing News World
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