Keith Kizer: Russell Mora a Good Referee Who Had a Bad Night
by Scott Christ on Aug 16, 2011 5:10 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Though the IBF has ordered an immediate rematch between Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko, controversy continues to swirl around referee Russell Mora for his performance in the fight, which many feel -- as the IBF stated -- impacted the outcome of the fight, and the fight itself from a general standpoint. Mora has been intensely criticized for not penalizing Abner Mares for repeated low blows in the fight, including an 11th round knockdown call on a clear low blow that sent the boxing community into an uproar.
Mora, a veteran referee, has worked many notable fights in the past, and largely without much major incident. He was even the referee for the fight last year between Brandon Rios and Anthony Peterson, where Peterson was appropriately warned, penalized, and eventually disqualified for repeated low blows.
The Nevada Athletic Commission has taken the stance that Mora was not corrupted or influenced by promoters or anyone else, and executive director Keith Kizer made his own feelings on the matter clear today.
"Like most, I think Russell Mora is a very good referee, who did a subpar job last Saturday," Kizer told Bad Left Hook.
It has also recently been said that Don King Promotions, and specifically their vice president of boxing operations Dana Jamison, requested before the fight that Mora be removed as a referee for allegedly being biased toward Golden Boy fighters. Kizer says that's not quite the case.
"Don King Promotions never requested that Mora be removed," said Kizer. "Rather, Dana Jamison called me about eight days before the bout and said Don King had been told by someone that Mora was a 'Golden Boy ref.' She said Mr. King wanted me to know he received that comment."
So Kizer and Nevada have made their decision clear: Mora will not be suspended, fined, or anything along those lines, and certainly won't have his referee's license revoked or anything that harsh. Instead, he will be "rehabbed," refereeing lower-level fights for the time being.
What's not clear is how boxing fans will take the news that Mora is essentially being given a slap on the wrist, and that this will appear to some as another case of a boxing commission or sanctioning body trying to brush controversy under the rug and get it to disappear as quickly as possible. You can make your own call on that.
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Kizer looks like an aged Zac Braff.
Bob Arum would promote Lucifer himself if he could put asses in the seats.
wow
yeah.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 16, 2011 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions
seriously, this disturbs me…others see it too?
Bob Arum would promote Lucifer himself if he could put asses in the seats.
Lmao...
+ 1
I’m also disturbed by the discrepancy in colors between his head hair & his beard! Definitely Looks like the usual standard shitty make up during Scrubs dream sequences!
"Fuck Ceasar Gracie, and fuck the fuckin' Diaz brothers! Fuck'em all! I bury those cock-a-roaches!"-Rory MacDonald
by Fat Daddy Doobs on Aug 16, 2011 9:51 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Well, I think they recognize it, and will put Mora on the low end of fights for a long time if not the rest of his career. I think their suspending him will only raise more controversy (is he corrupt? is he incompetent?). Pple have eyes, even the NSAC, they’re just trying to get this over with…
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
You go out drinking too hard four nights in a row. Your marriage is hanging on a thread. You get to the arena, and think to yourself, Goddamnit, I want to see someone feel what I’m feeling. I want some dick punching. And you smile as you realize you’re referee for a goddamn Abner Mares, goddamnit.
(A brief work of fiction.)
by El Destruyo on Aug 16, 2011 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Well, personally, I think the New Jersey State Athletic Commission made a better effort at handling the criticism. They recognized the judges they used were incompetent and they suspended them. I mean, the house didn’t fall down on them. In fact, most people were at least happy something had been done. The Nevada Commission should’ve followed suit and done something about this.
Bob Arum would promote Lucifer himself if he could put asses in the seats.
Like I said in one of the fanposts about the subject, I really think, personally, that the right decision would have been a suspension and some sort of investigation, even if it wasn’t a terribly intrusive investigation. A sit-down interview and examination, re-watching the fight with officials, something like that.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 16, 2011 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly, that’s my point. By releasing this statement, they’re basically telling the boxing community that they don’t really matter. They are taking no action except for taking three minutes to issue this press release or whatever.
Bob Arum would promote Lucifer himself if he could put asses in the seats.
It seems to me that, rather than the blithe conclusion that Mora just had a “bad night,” the sheer extent of his misfires should certainly warrant an attempt to find out just what went wrong. As you say, an interview and a round-by-round analysis with officials seems to be necessary to actually find out what the hell happened.
I don’t see anywhere in the article that states Kizer DIDN"T sit down with Mora and talk about what went wrong, and review the fight. He might have.
I don’t have issues with Kizer’s call. Agbeko is getting a rematch, and Mora will have to earn another chance at the “big leagues”. He’s now going to be refereeing on ESPN Ocho.
That’s right!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50jVa25gmWs
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
I don’t have issues with Kizer’s call. Agbeko is getting a rematch, and Mora will have to earn another chance at the "big leagues".
Well, Agbeko getting a rematch has nothing to do with Kizer or Nevada, and whether or not Mora truly ends up having to earn anything is the open question.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 16, 2011 7:22 PM EDT up reply actions
After an unbiased look at the events
My first reaction to that article is that Don King heard right.
Yes, basically. I’m disappointed in NSAC, I always thought they were better than that. I’m going to write again. In a way, I can see their point about Mora, although why there isn’t some kind of investigation eludes me, but saying Mora’s clean and they’re sure, can’t they just say “good ref had a very bad night, it affected the outcome of the fight, therefore the decision is changed to a DQ”? i know they hate it and have real cause to worry about lawsuits, but on what grounds, in this case?
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
I can't help but see clear bias.
I’m not really one for witch hunts, but I’m not going to look at a cloudless sky and say that it’s red either. Sugar coated or not, if Russell Mora truly was so bad at his job that he saw the fight the way he did without a bias toward Abner Mares, he has no business being in a ring. I tend to look at things from the fighters perspective, and things like this scare a lot of good athletes away from this sport. All anyone is really looking for is a fair shake, and if that’s not going to happen, why even bother, not even taking into account the risks a fighter takes when they step through the ropes. But, nothing is ever as bad as it seems, and for every Russell Mora out there, there’s a Stevie Smoger, who really gets it as a referee. Even though nobody gets it right every single time, there are refs out there that genuinely do a good job too. So keep your head up!
by Quickhooks on Aug 16, 2011 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEsbY1-9UYg&feature=related
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
on the beltline!
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
Mora practically let Donaire kill Montiel
I suppose that was just a bad night, too?
The itsy bitsy Spider went up the waterspout
Down came the Thunder and washed the spider out
Up came the sun but Thunder still remained
And the itsy bitsy spider never touched the belt again~
by Johnny WF on Aug 16, 2011 5:53 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
That happens with a lot of referees, including the consistently very good ones. That isn’t in the same ballpark as this, IMO.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 16, 2011 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought most referees knew to stop a fight when a man has a siezure...
The itsy bitsy Spider went up the waterspout
Down came the Thunder and washed the spider out
Up came the sun but Thunder still remained
And the itsy bitsy spider never touched the belt again~
Maybe this is what Richard Steele was protecting Taylor from agst Chavez?
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
Oddly enough...
Taylor vs chavez its the most reviled call of richard steele, but I think its one of the few he got right! I know plenty of people who were pissed at tony weeks for castillo vs corrales but again that was as close to perfect a call as any ive seen.
"Fuck Ceasar Gracie, and fuck the fuckin' Diaz brothers! Fuck'em all! I bury those cock-a-roaches!"-Rory MacDonald
by Fat Daddy Doobs on Aug 16, 2011 10:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
This further cements my belief that the New Jersey State Athletic Commission is the best in the country
At least the NJSACB took action with the judges after the Williams/Lara robbery. Even if it turns out to be mostly symbolic they at least did SOMETHING. This is absolutely disgusting.
Sidenote: This is the second time this year that Russell Mora has messed up a fight in my opinion. When he allowed Montiel to continue against Donaire after he hit the ground with his legs convulsing I was already disgusted. Obviously compared to Mares/Agbeko that was nothing, but I still hope I never have to watch him ref another fight.
Actually, Mora’s handling of Montiel seems worse to me. Much worse possible consequences.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
One thing is for sure: both those performances endangered the health of a fighter and in the latter case it affected the outcome. This is a dangerous man. Let’s just say it’s ineptitude, then he’s still not fit to have fighters lives in his hands.
Bob Arum would promote Lucifer himself if he could put asses in the seats.
Yeah, Montiel could have died......
Agbeko will merely have to forego fathering any children.
Kenny Bayless
is an example of a good referee who has bad nights, rare as they are.
Russell Mora doesnt belong in primetime
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