His dream as a professional boxing referee was to someday work a world title fight, and Joe Cortez was the third man in the ring for more than 170 before retiring in 2012.
The International Boxing Hall of Famer joined us to tell spectacular stories from his legendary career, during which he officiated iconic fights such as Holyfield-Bowe (I and III), Mosley-De La Hoya, De La Hoya-Vargas, Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Pernell Whitaker, Marco Antonio Barrera’s beatdown of Prince Naseem Hamed, George Foreman’s stunning KO of Michael Moorer, and many others.
Cortez reffed more than 800 bouts in 11 countries, and remains involved in the fight game as an ESPN analyst, a mentor for refs, and a consultant on the sport.
This terrific interview is preceded by Paul McLaughlin’s weekly report on the happenings in the United Kingdom boxing scene, and John J. Raspanti’s dissection of the Mayweather-McGregor circus.
Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of “Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy,” which can be found on Amazon’s Bestsellers list.
Listen to “Ringside Boxing Show: Hall of Famer Joe Cortez: Still fair, still firm” on Spreaker.
