Oh, dear, Pascal better come prepared to win a very clear decision!

The officials for Froch v. Pascal have been named. Supposedly, they are all fair, neutral and competent. But...here's what I found:

Referee:

Guido Cavalleri (Italy) - refereed Gomez vs. Virchis - took a point off from Gomez, the travelling fighter, for a low blow, but let Virchis, the home-town favourite, use his head on the inside.

http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=400961&cat=judge

Judges:

Predrag Aleksic (Montenegro) - refereed Hennesy fighter Witter against Harris as well as other fights involving British fighters like Haye

Herminio Cuevas (Mexico) - scored Rubillar v. Romero 118-111 for hometown Mexican fighter Romero - a truly scandalous decision, by all accounts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rey_Danseco

http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=007684&cat=boxer

Tom Kaczmarek (USA) - scored Vazquez v. Marquez III for Marquez 114-111 - :nut

http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=400998&cat=judge

So, for a fight in England we have an Italian referee who plies his trade throughout Europe, a Montenegran judge who has been employed by Hennessy Sports before for their fights, a Mexican judge who robbed the travelling fighter blind, giving the home-town favourite the nod, and an incomepetent American judge.

Great! So Pascal should have no trouble winning a close but clear decision. atsch

Source:
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/sports/story.html?id=76402056-ae84-4666-a005-a791f646bb9c

 

Pascal thinks the officials are fair and neutral. He probably doesn't know that as soon as Froch gets him in a corner and throws a couple of punches, the referee will most likely be chomping at the bit to save him...

...but these are the officials that his promoter GYM have agreed, so he should have no complaints. It seems GYM and Hennessy are on very friendly terms too...

...good luck, Jean...you're gonna need it!

 

...or more likely, the referee will stop the fight early to save Pascal...

 

I don't know. I'm guessing. I hope to be proven wrong, of course. I hope to see either a very clear case for a TKO stoppage, a clear KO or a fair decision. But Froch has benefited from an early stoppage before...see his fight against Tatevosyan for example.

 

No one is complaining. Pascal is happy with the officials, as far as I know; he is happy boxing in England too, despite the crowd, because he has good momories from his amateur days here. The officials are all sanctioned by the WBC and they were agreed upon by both camps. It's true that the ref did a good job refereeing Haye v. JMM. I'm just sayin'. If I were Pascal, I'd insist on a top American ref and on at least two refs in there that have never robbed anyone or been on Hennessy's payroll before. :conf

The world will be watching, so let's hope it's a fight that will be remembered only for the right reasons. :good