In watching Andre Berto versus Robert Guerrero last Saturday night it becomes ever more apparent that boxing referees are increasingly making bad calls, just as the judges have in recent years. How can boxing continue as a fair sport if we cannot get referees and judges to do their job properly?
In watching this fight, the first and most obvious bad call was with the first knockdown. Did anyone else notice Guerrero holding Berto behind the head for three consecutive punches before knocking him down? Should that have even been counted as a knockdown? The second knockdown was similar, but not as blatant. Let us just suppose that those two knockdowns were not achieved by fouls and move on to the rest of the fight…
Guerrero had a game plan for this fight that involved coming in with his head first; he did this as an attempt to prevent Berto from using his amazing speed to pick off shots. This strategy was similar to Miguel Cotto’s tactics when he fought both Margarito and Mayweather. The only difference was that Miguel Cotto was able to execute his plan very well against Margarito, without fighting dirty. In Cotto’s fight with Mayweather, Cotto was the bull that did not stand a chance against a swift matador. Guerrero fought a very dirty fight like a sloppy bull against a not so precise matador; this was a mess of a fight that lacked the finesse we should see from elite fighters. Let’s get to the referee’s mistakes.
As Guerrero continuously charged in head first, Berto would try to pull back, attempting to get off a quick right hook, sometimes followed by a quick right uppercut, but Guerrero kept pushing his head in. As Guerrero would do this, Berto’s right hook would sometimes catch the back of Guerrero’s head. The referee somehow saw this as being a purposeful fowl by Berto, and so he was warned. After a couple of warnings, it became obvious that Berto restrained himself from throwing that effective right hook, out of fear of getting a point deducted. As Guerrero continued risking headbutts, he repeatedly held onto Berto, and fought a very dirty fight; how was he to lose? The referee was seemingly on Guerrero’s side, never pulling Guerrero away or warning him for holding, or for using his head.
The final moment which showed the referee’s lack of good judgement was at the end of the 12th round when the final bell rang. Most referees become very aware when the bell is going to ring, and are usually prepared to jump right in to stop the action, especially in the last round. As the bell rang Berto stopped punching, while Guerrero continued teeing off. The referee did not even stop the fight, someone else ran into the ring, separating Guerrero. What was the referee doing? Did he forget that he had a fight to stop?
In the end, Guerrero may have taken the fight either way, but if there had been a better referee it might have been a better fight, and most likely a closer one. Guerrero is now calling out Mayweather just like every other boxer; the difference between Mayweather and Berto is that Mayweather will fight back dirty, fighting fire with fire. Mayweather has also mastered the shoulder roll and his speed and defense will be too much for Guerrero to handle. Berto was a rusty fighter that might have had a chance to win this fight had he been given a good referee and a fair shake. Steps need to be taken to ensure that the referees are being trained properly and can be trusted. Maybe boxing needs to incorporate replays, with the option for them to be challenged by a fighter’s corner.
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