The NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) has finally selected the official referee and judges for the Mayweather vs Ortiz mega-bout. Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez will be the third man in the ring during the title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr (41-0, 25 knockouts) and Victor Ortiz Jr (29-2-2, 22 knockouts). The three judges who will score the bout at ringside will be Jerry Roth, Glenn Trowbridge and Adalaide Byrd. All of the three judges are from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (United States of America).
Referee Joe Cortez was born in 1945 in New York, New York of Puerto Rican descent. He is a well-known boxing referee who has worked many notable bouts.
This will be the first time Cortez steps atop the ring with Victor Ortiz.
The first time Cortez refereed in Floyd's fight was in 1997 against Bobby Giepert - which Mayweather kayoed in just one round. The next time was the Mayweather vs Castillo rematch in December 2002. The last time Joe was assigned as third man in the ring in a Mayweather fight was in December 2007 where Ricky Hatton was Floyd's opposition.
Referee Joe Cortez has been accused of being excessively conspicuous in his later career, particularly for a decision to disqualify Humberto Soto for beating Francisco Lorenzo with a grazing punch after a knockdown. In 2011, Cortez was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame along with Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Kostya Tszyu.
Cortez should be very careful in catching Floyd with his dirty tricks. Ortiz believes Mayweather has dirty tactics which includes using the elbow and head as other means to hurt him.
There were a few times when Floyd was using one of his arms to hold the opponent and using his foot to step on the opponent's foot.
No doubt, Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers today - and that's a solid fact based on his 41 wins without any loss to his professional boxing record. He will be the toughest, strongest and fastest opponent Victor Ortiz will face. This September 17, Ortiz vs Mayweather will surely be witnessed by a sell-out crowd and millions of fans watching the televised fight on HBO PPV.
