By William Mackay: Referee Joe Cortez could be working the Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson rematch on May 19th, according to boxing news from the BBC Sport. Cortez was the referee that worked Khan’s fight against Marcos Maidana in December 2010, frequently stepping in to break up the inside action when Maidana was trying to work. It hasn’t been confirmed yet about Cortez working the fight, but the BBC says that he’s expected to be the referee for the rematch

This could be really bad for Peterson if Cortez is the one who gets picked out, because some boxing fans believe he tends to break up inside fighting and presents fighters with inside skills from working. Cortez worked the Ricky Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight and he broke up a lot of the inside action when Hatton was trying to work. And in the Khan vs. Maidana fight, Cortez stepped in quite a bit, especially in the later rounds when Maidana had Khan hurt in the 10th round and was trying to finish Khan off on the ropes. On a couple of occasions, Khan was holding onto one of Maidana’s arms and taking punishment from his free arm. Instead of letting the action continue, Cortez separated the two and started it from the center of the ring. Perhaps Peterson can call for another referee to be picked out for the fight if it turns out Cortez is getting selected. He should have an option to ask for a different referee.

Peterson said to the BBC Sport “If the referee knows the difference between a foul and a push, then I’ll be okay…The referee we had allowed me to fight out of clinches, and I liked that, that tends to favor my style…If he calls break every time I get inside, then I’ll have to change my strategy and do something different.”

I’d like to think that Cortez, if he’s the one selected for this fight, will allow Peterson to work on the inside, but in looking at the Maidana-Khan and Hatton-Mayweather fights, I have my doubts. If I was Khan and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions, I would want Cortez to work the fight. It could make all the difference between Khan winning and losing the fight. I think Khan would have been knocked out in the Maidana fight had Cortez not broken up the action so often in rounds 10, 11 and 12. Khan was taking big shots on the ropes, and Cortez was breaking up a lot of the inside work.