We'd all love to see Tyson ref. But he would be a bigger show than the fighters most likely. Maybe working a corner would be better for him. He could shouting out those numbers from the Willy bag during the round.
Maybe because being a referee in a professional fight requires training and experience. The really great ones shine out with their professionalism. One poster mentioned Walcott; with all due respect to him, he was out of his league trying to referee a world championship fight! I'm reminded of a "deer in the headlights" watching his pathetic performance. How about Joe Louis in the 2nd Frazier-Quarry fight! Jerry was 'shot' going in and in the final round, looked over at Joe wanting him to stop it only to have Louis wave him back in to 'destruction'! Many referees are lacking but MOST former fighters that referee a fight should never been given the chance in the first place! Didn't Liston referee a Williams-Terrell fight? Please let me know of any former fighter who did, at least, a passable job as a referee; I'm sure there might have been a couple.
I think Alfonso Zamora and Itsvan Kovacs are referees, if not, they either work as judges or in the case of Kovacs, he works with the WBO.
A better question might be: why not let ex-boxers score the fights? Surely they have a better idea as to what punches are more effective than others, and which fighter is winning?
Lots of referees are former fighters. The Jersey Joe Walcott thing is a myth. Walcott mishandled that situation but he had refereed world championship fights before and did well. It wasn't as if they'd just plucked him out of the air. He didn't mess up due to him being a "former fighter", he messed up because he's a human being. I thought Ruby Goldstein did a FAR WORSE job as referee of Johansson-Patterson 1. And yet Goldstein was a very very experienced championship referee. He was also a former fighter, of course.
...well, because Clay vs. Liston II, is pretty much why. Let's have unqualified and untrained (to officiate, that is) people officiate! What a splendid idea!
No, in fact many well known refs had some modicum of pro boxing experience as tomato cans (or were even "could've been [fringe] contender" types, like Mills Lane or Richard Steele) - but the practice of famous boxers going into a "soft retirement" with a transitional layover in moonlighting as refs despite not having any particular aptitude for it but getting to be 3rd man for important/televised fights just purely trading off their status as celebs in the sport ...that is the practice that has largely died (and should never be exhumed).
