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Judge John Keane of England is out for Saturday's rematch in Las Vegas between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, and will be replaced by Canada's Craig Metcalfe. Keane is ill and had to withdraw from his assignment.
Metcalfe has never worked a Pacquiao or Bradley fight, but he was recently assigned to the Canelo-Angulo fight on March 8, and also worked Mayweather-Canelo last September, so this won't be his first rodeo with a major fight or anything. Among other high-profile bouts, Metcalfe was also a judge for Ward-Froch, Klitschko-Adamek, Martinez-Williams II, and Pavlik-Martinez.
The other two judges for the fight are Nevada's Glenn Trowbridge and Florida's Michael Pernick, with Kenny Bayless assigned to referee the bout. This will be Bayless' seventh Pacquiao fight, Trowbridge's sixth, and Pernick's second straight Pacquiao bout, as he worked the Macau fight last November against Brandon Rios.
Do you think the officiating will be an issue for this fight? Bayless is highly-respected as a referee, but judges are judges, with seemingly no rhyme or reason or consistency on the good or even bad side.