By: Sean Crose
One of the things that comes to mind when the subject of Canelo Alvarez’s ring fights with Gennady Golovkin comes to mind is the subject of judicial bias. Canleo, fair or not, has been widely regarded as the judge’s darling. The first match between him and Golovkin ended in a draw, although the public viewed it differently. The rematch a year later ended with Canelo getting the judge’s nod – again, a controversial call. It is therefore not surprising that some are concerned about the assessment for Saturday’s third game between Canelo-Golovkin. As happened with the previous two battles, Canelo-Golovkin 3 will fail in Las Vegas.
With that in mind, reviewing the referees assigned to this weekend’s battle could prove valuable. The information presented here dates back to late 2017, ancient history in the sports world.
Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey has been evaluating fights for more than thirty years. The man has rated more than 2,200 matches, more than a few of which featured key players in the fighting game. Lower? Weisfeld was one of the referees for the second Canelo-Golovkin fight. He ruled in favor of Canelo 115-113. With that in mind, he was also the judge for Canelo’s most recent match, where Canelo lost to Dmitry Bivol by decision. Weisfeld ruled it for Bivol.
Dave Moretti, a Vegas native, has been rating matches since – wait – in 1977. In fact, the man has rated over a whopping 1,300 matches during his long career as a player. how to be a ring official. Since late 2017, the man hasn’t made a controversial ruling in any major game, unless you count his rulings in the first two Canelo-Golovkin games as controversial – he ruled for Golovkin for the first time and for Canelo in the rematch. Moretti also ruled in Bivol’s favor when the reigning WBA light heavyweight champion defeated Canelo last spring.
Finally, Oklahoma’s David Sutherland will also score against Canelo-Golovkin on Saturday. Slightly less famous than Weisfeld or Moretti, Sutherland has nonetheless had 750 games under his wing since becoming a judge in 2002. He has never judged a match of this caliber but has ruled no cause. controversy in matches involving the likes of Natoya Inoue, Jamel Herring, Jermell Charlo and Shakur Stevenson.
Judging by what’s on paper, all three judges have solid reputations. Furthermore, two out of three have ruled both for and against Canelo – the most popular judge – over the course of the past few years. Saturday night’s fight may end up controversial, but at least the jury selection seems solid.
