Kenny Bayless will referee Ricky Hatton's showdown with Manny Pacquiao.
The Nevada official has been confirmed as the third man in the ring at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on May 2, in front of the Sky Box Office cameras.
Bayless is no stranger to the marquee fights, but has refereed Hatton once and Pacquiao twice.
He was in charge of Pac Man's rematch KO of Erik Morales in 2006 and his second points win over Juan Manuel Marquez in March last year.
He was also in charge of Hatton's last fight, the 11th-round stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi five months ago.
Exceptional
And although he has had his run-ins with American referees, not least Joe Cortez, the Hitman is happy with Bayless' appointment.
"He's refereed me once before, and he did an exceptional job," Hatton told skysports.com.
"The only thing I can ask of him is just let the fight flow, let it flow. As long as none of us are fouling, let the fight go.
"I'm sure Manny would say the same thing."
Hatton is adamant that over-zealous officiating from Cortez robbed him of the chance to compete against Floyd Mayweather Jr in his only professional loss.
Favours
The controversial referee was on him within seconds of the first bell and the Hitman is just hoping he is able to let his size and strength advantage count against Pacquiao.
"Fighting in-close, inside, is as much a skill as fighting at distance and you should be able to do both," he said.
"That's all I've asked of any referee. I'm not looking for any favours."
Bayless has been in charge of some of boxing's biggest battles down the years.
He oversaw Marco Antonio Barrera's consummate schooling of Naseem Hamed back in 2001 and was also in the ring for one of the fights of 2008, when Antonio Margarito stopped Miguel Cotto in a classic.
Source: skysports.com
1 comment:
Dapat palitan na si Roach. Parang di niya kilala si Gerry. Sana inabot na lang ng 12 rounds dahil para ma- expose si Juanma. Kung mapapansin niyo nang mabuti carbon- copy siya ni Trinidad kung lumaban, nasasainyo na iyon kung anong pananaw niyo. Kung mayroong fighter na balak talunin si Juanma, kailangan mala- Penalosa ang tibay na may Knock-out power o Respectable power at kasing liksi ni Juanma para matulad ang karera niya kay Trinidad matapos malasap ang pagkatalo kay Hopkins.
Translation: They should replace Roach. It’s like he doesn’t know Gerry verry well. He should’ve let him fight through 12 rounds, you’ll see that Gerry still has LOT more fight left in him in order to expose Juanma.If you study his style carefully, he is a carbon- copy of Trinidad, it’s up to you to decide in your own point of view. If there’s is any fighter wanting to defeat Juanma, you’ll need the durability of Penalosa and a knockout power or even a respectable power and not much speed but agility because he is Like Trinidad. If these happens to be in a fighter’s arsenal, Juanma’s career would end up just like Trinidad after he lost to Hopkins.
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