i was thinking they should start getting boxers to be refs? that would be pretty awesome. obvioulsy choose a boxer who isnt affiliated with the 2 combatants, but any pro boxer with loads of experience will know all the dirty tactics and should know how to ref??
Would you take a referees purse when you're a millionaire with business commitments as well as boxing commitments?
that wouldn't work, they could easily reach for a steel chair while the boxers are stuck in a corner.
Randy Neumann used to be a boxer, Richard Steele too.... most of them i think. But the actual retired champions were not always good. Jersey Joe Walcott did a bad job in Liston-Clay II.. Joe Louis, as much as i like him, did a pretty average job in Quarry-Frazier II.
call me naive, but i dont think they would be doing it for the money its like commentating and stuff, they do it just for the honour (im sure they get paid but not much). why wouldnt they want to ref in the biggest fights going? e.g. in floyd vs oscar, imagine if lennox lewis was refereeing.
As far as I know -- not that it's a requirement -- but most refs have been fighters, at some level or other. I'd like to see more ex-pros as judges, they might better recognize affective agression.
Maybe but I guarantee Lennox gets paid more for announcing than the referee does for his nights work. Plus refeering just for honour when you've been world champ? I don't see it. Also to stay sharp and effective they couldn't limit themselves just to the biggest fights, referees need skills too (movement, timing etc)