THE THIRD MAN
Joe Cortez talks to James Slater about a memorable refereeing career
Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez reflects on a storied career between the ropes
I MADE SURE RICKY HATTON ABIDED BY THE RULES AGAINST FLOYD MAYWEATHER”
HALL OF FAME referee Joe Cortez worked over 175 world title fights before he retired in 2012. He was the third man in the ring when 45-year-old George Foreman made history, when the legendary Roberto Duran won his final world title and – infamously in some quarters – when Floyd Mayweather turned back the challenge of Ricky Hatton to break British hearts in Las Vegas. Hatton has regularly questioned Cortez’s motives for constantly breaking the action when he got in close.
Here, the 75-year-old discusses that fight, offers evidence (of sorts) as to why he couldn’t possibly have favoured Mayweather and looks back on a career decorated by some of the biggest names in modern boxing.
You were a pro boxer yourself, of course, going 12-1 between 1962 and 1970. Explain how that experience helps the transition to becoming a referee – and how important is it?
I enjoyed being a fighter, but I didn’t make it, so I became a referee, 10 years later. I agree 100 per cent that being a fighter yourself makes you a better referee. You know what the fighters are going through, what they feel when they are hit with a body punch or a concussive punch to the head. Yes, having been in the ring myself, it made me a better referee. But there are good referees who have never boxed themselves, such as Kenny Bayless, and these guys are doing a great job.
What makes a great boxing referee?
Being consistent. Being consistent with your calls. Making sure you know when to pull the trigger, in other words, if a fighter is hurt, any fighter, be it in a big world title fight or be it in a fourrounder, you take action if he is hurt. The safety of the fighter always comes first. Being consistent and making sure you enforce all the rules; these things make a great referee.
You retired from refereeing in 2012. Do you miss it?
I refereed for 35 years, and 10 years before I retired, I was planning my retirement. I made sure I got good referees in position to take over. After 35 years, I felt I was about done. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011 – along with Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Kostya Tszyu and Sylvester Stallone – I felt I had reached the pinnacle of my career. I would have loved to have made it onto The Hall as a fighter, and to go in with Tyson and Chavez, two of the greatest fighters ever, I felt it was great to go out on top. I don’t miss it, I don’t miss being in the ring. Today, I pass on advice to young fighters and to other officials. I have The Joe Cortez Show which I love doing, for the fans, who I like to keep informed, and I’m busy these days. I also work as an analyst for ESPN. I’m the first referee they have hired for that position, so that’s a great honour.
If I was to ask you to look back on your career, what are the first fights that come into your mind and why?
The Amir Khan-marcos Maidana fight is one of them. It had action all the way and fans from all over the world wanted to see that fight. The Roberto Duran-iran Barkley fight, that was a great honour for me. Mike Tyson-larry Holmes, Oscar De La Hoya-julio Cesar Chavez, the first one, George Foreman-michael Moorer and, of course, Sugar Ray Leonard against Hector Camacho.
The Duran-barkley fight is approaching its 30th birthday. Few gave Duran a chance before that fight. Did you?
I can remember that fight clearly, like it was yesterday. I was excited to be working a big fight. Barkley was coming off a great KO win over Thomas Hearns, and Duran
had done so much already – lightweight champion, welterweight champion and junior-middleweight champion. I didn’t think he could beat Barkley, who was in the peak of his career and coming off that big KO over Hearns. There was three-feet of snow in Atlantic City that night, there was a blizzard, and the fight was like a blizzard. There were so many punches coming from both fighters. I was very surprised Duran could come back the way he did and win the world middleweight title. A great fight.
When you are refereeing a fight like that, where there is an older guy fighting a young guy, it must affect the way you view the fight. You had a similar scenario when 45-year-old George Foreman challenged Michael Moorer in 1995. Were you worried about George beforehand?
Yes. I went in thinking I’d better look out for the safety of the two fighters, but George in particular, because of his age. I was very concerned. Moorer was a very good fighter, a skilled southpaw, and he had Teddy Atlas training him. For the first nine rounds, Foreman was in the fight, but he was losing most of the rounds. Then he caught Moorer with a short left hook and a short right. It didn’t really look like he’d hit him that hard but a short punch, that hurts the most. I remember getting to the count of ‘seven’ and thinking, ‘this guy isn’t going to make it’. And he didn’t make it. George made history and that fight was definitely one of the highlights of my career. But what worried me was how a number of other older fighters would see what George had done and come back themselves. I was concerned some of these guys would try it and get hurt, because not every fighter is George Foreman. Not everyone has the power he had or is as good as him. George was very much a one-off.
What was the toughest fight you ever worked, in terms of it being hard to keep control of?
The John Ruiz-kirk Johnson [WBA] heavyweight title fight here in Las Vegas [2002]. Kirk Johnson was losing the fight and I could see he was getting frustrated.
I DIDN’T THINK DURAN COULD BEAT BARKLEY. I WAS VERY SURPRISED HE WON THE TITLE”
He started throwing low blows and I thought it was intentional. I took a point away after several warnings and I told him I’d disqualify him if he carried on doing it. And he did do it again, and then again, so I disqualified him. I could see what he was doing. He wanted the fight to end. That was a tough fight to control, but he gave me no option but to end the fight.
To this day, Ricky Hatton says that you stopped him from fighting his usual fight when he lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2007, that you favoured Mayweather. What’s your response to that?
I did not favour Floyd Mayweather. Some people, they have me as being under his wing, or in his pocket. But if I was a Floyd Mayweather guy, why would I train Conor Mcgregor to beat Mayweather? We worked together for weeks ahead of that fight [in 2017], which was a great honour, them picking me, but no, if I was Floyd’s guy, why would I assist someone in an effort to beat him? Ricky Hatton is a gentleman, a great fighter, but he did have a rough style, where he would clinch a lot and fight rough, and those things are not permitted in the rules of boxing. I went in there to do my job. His fans, they were upset, and they had to blame someone for him losing so they said let’s blame Joe Cortez.
In the fight, it was apparent from round-one that Mayweather was superior. I tried to be as fair as possible, as I did in any fight. I’ve met Ricky a few times, I’ve never had anyone say I favoured any fighter, be it a Roberto Duran, a Mike Tyson or a Floyd Mayweather. Hatton might have got away with rough tactics and lots of holding and clinching in the past, but I made sure he abided by the rules.
I feel sorry for Hatton, he was a great fighter, but he lost. I did my job and I can’t help it if the fans, the Hatton fans, were not happy.
Tell us about The Joe Cortez Show.
I do it each week, on Facebook. I have a world champion as a guest and we keep the fans informed. I hope to get the show to regular TV, and host a show each month, in a different country – in the UK, in Australia, in America. This is my dream. It would be a live show each month and we would get the show out there all over the world. It would be great if we could get a sponsor in the UK, in Australia. This show, I do it for the love of the sport and for the fans.
I WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT GEORGE FOREMAN AGAINST MICHAEL MOORER”