Is this fair criticism or not??? Cortez has received criticism from fans of Ricky Hatton and boxing experts for his handling of Undefeated, the bout between Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr on December 8, 2007. Jim Watt, a former Scottish boxer, has publicly attacked Joe Cortez for his "deplorable" performance. The thought is that Cortez was overly intrusive, and when the fighters where in close, he was breaking up the action too quick and did not wait to see if the fighters were actually going to throw a punch or not; a scenario that would have suited Ricky Hatton. Cortez deducted Hatton a point in round 6 - the first of his professional career - for hitting on the back of the head. Some complain that Cortez failed to see Mayweather ducking and almost trying to lever himself through the ropes. Hatton responded by turning his back on Floyd on the resumption.The suspicions of bias from English supporters was apparent, with sections of the crowd chanting "The referee's a wanker" throughout some of the rounds. Their ill-feeling towards Cortez was further exacerbated by Cortez posing for photos with Mayweather just moments after the fight. Cortez states that those criticizing him were primarily British loyalists. He further claims that his actions were justified in that Hatton's "hit and hold" technique and "rabbit punching" is illegal, although it is widely regarded amongst boxing communities that Floyd's illegal use of the elbow and ducking below the waistline throughout the fight was ignored. Joe Cortez also refereed the Bernard Hopkins versus Joe Calzaghe fight, where he reversed his refereeing style to allow the American to use the same 'hit and hold' technique (as Hatton in the Undefeated fight) for virtually the whole fight. Hopkins was also allowed to lead with the head on several occasions with absolutely no reprimand and was given a 5 minute break during the fight for a supposed low blow by Calzaghe. This has lead many to question Joe Cortez's credibility as a world title referee, due to his constant favouritism towards boxers of his own nationality.
He let Ruiz get away with all sorts of illegal tactics when he refereed his fights, too. That alone raises questions about his impartiality and credibility as a ref. As usual Ruiz should have been disqualified.
The double standards of the way he reffed the Hatton/PBF fight and the Calzaghe/Hopkins fights border on scandalous. He let Hopkins get away with the very same tactics that he wouldn't let Hatton apply.
Forget all that, the Soto / Lorenzo debacle was enough to convince me that he shouldn't ref another major fight.
