Tony Perez (referee)
Anthony Perez (1931 – December 14, 2021) was an American boxing referee and judge of Puerto Rican descent.[1] During his career, he refereed many major boxing fights and participated in a number of boxing related documentaries.
Perez was active as a boxing referee during five decades; he oversaw fights between 1968 and 2005 and was both acclaimed and criticized among boxing's connoisseurs; he refereed 431 professional boxing fights, including many world title ones. Several of the matches he refereed involved world boxing champions and Hall of Fame members.
Early life and career
Perez was born in
Perez started boxing as an amateur while in the United States Army, according to
One night at a fight his mother attended, he got a cut on one of his eyes, leading her to ask him to give up boxing. Perez got married and had a son, he then worked odd jobs until finding work at a
Major fights refereed
The first bout that Perez was assigned was the one between Buster Mathis and James J. Woody, which Mathis won by sixth-round technical knockout September 26, 1968, at the Madison Square Garden in New York.[3] On May 26, 1969, Perez was the referee for the Dick Tiger versus Nino Benvenuti ten round non-title affair at the Madison Square Garden. Tiger won the fight by ten round unanimous decision; Perez was both the referee and one of the three judges for this fight and he scored it for Tiger 7-2-1;[4] both Tiger and Benvenuti are now members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
First world title bout
The first world championship bout refereed by Perez was the Joe Frazier versus Jimmy Ellis main attraction on Monday, February 16, 1970. Ellis was the defending World Boxing Association's world heavyweight champion with a record of 27 wins and 5 losses, 12 wins by knockout against Frazier, who was undefeated and untied in 24 bouts, with 20 knockout wins, and recognized (Frazier) as the world heavyweight champion in the American states of Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maine. This bout also took place at the Madison Square Garden. Frazier won the bout by fifth-round technical knockout after Ellis could not come out of his corner after the fourth round.[5] Two weeks later, Perez was back in the ring to referee the bout between future world middleweight champion Rodrigo Valdez of Colombia and ranked Puerto Rican Pete Toro, which Valdez lost by ten-round decision.[6]
On October 26, 1970, Perez was the referee in the bout between the comebacking
Over the next three years, Perez oversaw 18 more fights, all in New York and most at the Madison Square Garden or the theater on the Garden's property, the Madison Square Garden's
Ali-Frazier II
Then, on January 28, 1974, Perez came to the international spotlight when he was chosen to referee the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier rematch, pitting the two former world Heavyweight champions as they tried to return to the world title, in a match contested for the North American Boxing Federation's Heavyweight title. Frazier had 30 wins and one second-round knockout loss to George Foreman (when he lost the world Heavyweight title) while Ali was 43–2, with 31 knockout wins, having lost to Frazier in their first bout on March 8, 1971, and to Ken Norton; he had avenged the loss to Norton and was now trying to avenge his loss to Frazier; at stake was a fight against Foreman for the world title. His handling of the bout was marred by an incident in the second round where Ali had hurt Frazier with 20 seconds to go in the second round and Perez stepped between them as he thought he had heard the bell sound. Ali went on to win by twelve round unanimous decision, but Frazier and his trainer Eddie Futch were critical of Perez’s unwillingness to penalize Ali for repeatedly holding Frazier during the encounter.[8]
Shavers-Stallings
On November 4, 1974, Perez was the referee for a bout that is widely considered by fans and experts as one of the biggest upsets of boxing of that era as Bob Stallings, a 21 win, 24 loss, with only 4 knockout wins, trialhorse, beat 46 win, 3 loss, and 45 knockouts Earnie Shavers, by a ten rounds decision, dropping top contender Shavers, renowned as one of the hardest punching boxers in the sport's history, in round nine. Perez, who was also one of the three official judges for the bout, scored it 6–4 in rounds for Stallings.[9] This bout was held at the Felt Forum. Eighteen days later, Perez was back as both referee and judge for the main event between Hall of Fame member Emile Griffith and Vito Antuofermo at the Madison Square Garden, which Antuofermo won by ten rounds unanimous decision. Perez voted 6-3-1 for the winner.[10]
Ali-Wepner
Perez's next assignment also became a very prominent fight in boxing history when, on March 24, 1975, Ali defended the world Heavyweight title versus Chuck Wepner. Perez was called in to referee this bout; his second fight refereed outside New York (the first had been Ali-Quarry I). Underdog Wepner became an instant celebrity when, in round nine, he scored a knockdown of Ali.[11] This also became a controversial matter-many have felt that Wepner only dropped Ali because Wepner stepped on Ali's foot as he landed a punch to Ali's heart. Wepner disputes this.[12] Nevertheless, the knockdown and fight allegedly inspired Sylvester Stallone to write and film the first Rocky film.[13] Perez's refereeing that night was, ironically, unsatisfying to the winner Ali, who, according to Perez, complained that Perez let Wepner hit Ali with low blows and called him a "dirty dog". Ali commented that Perez was "not Black and (he's) not White-(he's) Puerto Rican but (he's) trying to be White", "He is more Black than White, but he's trying to be White".
Perez hit Ali and
Perez was the referee for
After referring several other major fights, including one of
Fight at Rahway
Perez visited
Cooney versus Norton
On May 11, 1981, Perez was given referee duties for the
Next came the WBA world bantamweight title match between champion
The next major match refereed by Perez pitted an already legendary boxer and (later) Hall of Famer (Arguello) defending his third divisional world title, the WBC Lightweight one, against a future legend, world champion and Hall of Famer himself, Ray Mancini, at Bally's Park Place Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, October 3, 1981. Arguello retained the title with a fourteenth-round knockout[20] in a fight ended by a highlight reel knockout.
Disqualification of Elisha Obed
On November 12, 1981, Perez was involved in two rather large fights, Rocky Lockridge versus Refugio Rojas (won by future world champion Lockridge by ten round majority decision; Perez, also a judge in this fight, scored it for Lockridge 7-2-1) and future world Light Heavyweight champion Bobby Czyz versus former Junior Middleweight world champion Elisha Obed of The Bahamas. The Czyz-Obed bout, a Middleweight contest scheduled for ten rounds, was notable because Perez disqualified Obed in round six for what Perez considered to be excessive holding on the Bahamian's part.[21] Obed tried to attack Perez after the match's end, Perez warning him to stay away from Perez.[22]
Refereeing Salvador Sanchez's last bout
Perez was the referee, on July 21, 1982, of the last bout fought by legendary Mexican boxer
Luis Resto versus Billy Collins, Jr.
Almost a year after Sanchez-Nelson, Perez was involved in another very controversial fight, although this time no one could blame him for the controversy that arose after the match; On June 16, 1983, in the program headlined by the
Then, on September 10, 1983, Perez was the referee for the Larry Holmes versus Scott Frank WBC world Heavyweight title bout held at the Harrah's Marina Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Holmes beat Frank by fifth-round technical knockout.[25] Five days later, Perez was back at the Madison Square Garden as referee of the Ray Mancini-Orlando Romero WBA world Lightweight championship match, which Mancini won by ninth-round knockout when Perez counted the Peruvian Romero out as Romero sat on the canvas after a punch.[26]
Coetzee vs. Dokes
On September 23, 1983, Perez participated in another historic fight, when Michael Dokes defended his WBA world Heavyweight title against Gerrie Coetzee. South African Coetzee beat Dokes by tenth-round knockout at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio,[27] becoming not only the first White world Heavyweight champion since Ingemar Johansson 23 years before, but also the first world Heavyweight champion from Africa in boxing history.
Hagler's knockdown
Perez refereed the March 30, 1984, world Middleweight title fight between champion
Jamaica's first world championship
Perez was the referee on October 19, 1984, for the match fought for the vacant WBA's world Junior Middleweight title which had been vacated by Durán, between Ireland's Sean Mannion and Jamaica's Mike McCallum. This bout marked the first time that two women (Carol Castellano and Carol Polis) acted as judges in a professional boxing match and, after McCallum's 15 round unanimous decision victory, the first time a Jamaican boxer won a professional boxing world's championship.[29]
Julio Cesar Chavez
Tony Perez was given the responsibility of officiating the WBC world Junior Lightweight title bout between champion Julio César Chávez of Mexico and challenger Refugio Rojas as part of the Hector Camacho vs. Edwin Rosario fight's undercard, June 13, 1986, at the Madison Square Garden. Chavez, Sr. dropped Rojas to the floor several times before winning by seventh-round technical knockout.[30]
Only six weeks later, Perez again shared a ring with the Mexican legend when Chavez defended his world title against former and future world champion Rocky Lockridge, whom the future Hall of Famer from Mexico beat by a somewhat controversial, twelve round majority decision with Perez as referee on Sunday, August 3, 1986, at the Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco.[31]
Bassa-McAuley
On Saturday, March 26, 1988, Perez refereed the
Evander Holyfield
Perez refereed Evander Holyfield's second bout in the Heavyweight division. Holyfield, already a world champion in the Cruiserweight division, battled former WBC world Heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas on December 9, 1988, at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City, knocking him out in seven rounds.[33] Holyfield would later become world Heavyweight champion multiple times.
Damiani-Du Plooy
The World Boxing Organization asked Perez to referee their inaugural WBO world heavyweight championship bout on May 6, 1989, at the Stadio Nicola de Simone in Syracuse, Sicily, Italy between South Africa's Johnny du Plooy and Italy's Francesco Damiani. Damiani won the contest by third-round knockout (despite this, most outside the WBO continued recognizing Mike Tyson as "undisputed" champion in the division). Perez was the Italy fight's referee.[33]
Camacho-Paz
On Saturday, February 3, 1990, Perez refereed the match between WBO world Junior Welterweight champion
Jung Koo Chang-Muangchai Kittikasem
Perez flew to
Mercer KO5 Morrison
Perez was the referee of one of the first major boxing
McClellan-Bell
Perez's first fight in Puerto Rico took place on Friday, August 6, 1993, at the
Oliver McCall versus Frank Bruno
Camacho Sr.-Durán I
Tony Perez was then called on to referee the pay per view match between two aging but legendary former world champions, Hector Camacho Sr. and Roberto Durán, which was held on June 22, 1996, at the
Roy Jones Jr. controversy
Perez was again involved in a controversial match when Roy Jones Jr., the WBC's world Light Heavyweight champion and, at 34 wins, no defeats or draws, with 29 wins by knockout widely considered either the best or second best fighter in the world at that era, took on challenger Montell Griffin, undefeated and untied in 26 fights with 18 wins by knockout on March 21, 1997, at the Taj Majal Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. The champion dropped the challenger in round nine but then threw a punch to his head as Griffin sat on one knee. Perez disqualified Jones Jr., giving Griffin the world championship and Jones Jr. his first loss as a professional. Perez explained that he "was counting because if he could have continued, (Perez would have taken) one or two points away from Jones".[38] This fight was also broadcast on television by HBO Boxing.
Later years as referee
Perez continued to referee for seven more years after the Griffin-Jones Jr. I fight, including many world championship fights taking place in the United States,
Personal life and death
Perez appeared in a number of boxing related documentaries, most notably Assault in the Ring about the Collins-Resto bout. During his retirement, he made occasional public appearances at boxing related events.
He met his wife, future boxing judge Barbara Perez, as they were both working at the Seagram's distillery.[39] His wife lost a brother, who was a firefighter, during the September 11 attacks in 2001. She is a member of the New Jersey state's boxing hall of fame.
Perez died on December 14, 2021, at the age of 90.[40]
See also
References
- ^ "BoxRec: Tony Perez". boxrec.com.
- ^ a b c "Referee Tony Perez Wallops Ali with a $20 Million Damage Suit". PEOPLE.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Rodrigo Valdes vs. Pete Toro - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Jan. 28, 1974: Ali vs Frazier II -- Joe Smokeless As Ali Clinches To Victory". The Fight City. January 28, 2019.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ Jun 4, foxsports; ET, 2016 at 1:02a (June 4, 2016). "Chuck Wepner calls the day he lost to Muhammad Ali the greatest of his life". FOX Sports.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Alexander, Bryan. "'Chuck': Five things you should know about the real 'Rocky' Chuck Wepner". USA TODAY.
- ^ "American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Ali, 489 F. Supp. 123 (S.D.N.Y. 1980)". Justia Law.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ a b "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ 16. Bobby Czyz vs Elisha Obed - Part 2. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Billy Collins Jr. vs. Luis Resto - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Mike McCallum vs. Sean Mannion - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "BoxRec: Login". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Fight:19281 - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Gerald McClellan vs. Jay Bell - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "Roy Jones Jr. vs. Montell Griffin (1st meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ http://www.njboxinghof.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/BARBARA-PEREZ.jpg [bare URL image file]
- ^ Lang, Arne K. (22 December 2021). "David Diamante Critically Injured; Referee Tony Perez Passes Away at Age 90". The Sweet Science. Retrieved 23 December 2021.