www.pressofatlanticcity.com
By DAVID WEINBERG Staff Writer,
Published: Friday, October 17, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY – As interesting as the Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins fight at Boardwalk Hall promises to be Saturday, there is also intrigue and suspense concerning who will join them in the ring.
Take an unusual decision made by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board’s interim commissioner, add accusations of foul play and dirty tactics, toss in a last-minute election of a new referee, and you get the announcement made Thursday night that someone else will be the referee for Pavlik-Hopkins instead of Earl Morton.
Pavlik’s co-manager, Cameron Dunkin, and promoter, Top Rank, alleged in a formal complaint to the board that Morton has an friendship with Bernard Hopkins.
No wonder the weigh-in is being held at Caesars Atlantic City’s Circus Maximus Theater.
“We’re fine with whoever winds up being the referee,” Dunkin said. “As long as it wasn’t Earl Morton.”
As of late Thursday night, the issue had yet to be solved. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Lembo, acting on behalf of the Control Board in place of acting commissioner Sylvester Cuyler, sent a list Thursday evening to both camps asking them to choose among Benji Esteves, Randy Neumann and Steve Smoger to serve as the man in the middle Saturday night.
Dunkin said Top Rank Promotions, Pavlik’s promoter, listed Smoger as their top pick, followed by Esteves and Neumann.
Hopkins’ camp had not submitted their choices as of 11 p.m. Thursday. If they don’t, the Control Board will select a referee prior to today’s weigh-in scheduled for 5 p.m. Cuyler, who will be replaced by new commissioner Aaron Davis later this month, will not be part of the selection process after recusing himself Thursday. He was unavailable for comment.
The circus started on Tuesday, when Top Rank president Bob Arum, and Dunkin heard for the first time – about a month later than normal – that Morton had been named as the referee to go with judges Barbara Perez, Alan Rubenstein and Steve Weisfeld for the 12-round light-heavyweight bout.
“We were definitely concerned about (the alleged friendship),” Arum said Thursday. “Everyone knows Earl Morton is a good referee, but we heard from a number of people that he has a relationship with Bernard. If there is a bias there, it would be a disgrace to let him oversee this fight.”
Dunkin, with the help of attorney Patrick English, faxed his concerns in a report to the Control Board offices in Trenton on Thursday afternoon. Dunkin and Arum said that the report contained signatures of fighters and others in the Philadelphia boxing community who confirmed that Hopkins was friends with Morton, as well as referee Eddie Cotton, who was also considered for the bout.
The New Jersey Athletic Control Board said that Morton, who’s from Newark, was not available for comment.
Hopkins vehemently denied having a friendship with Morton. Their only official connection occurred on Dec. 13, 2003, when Morton served as the referee during Hopkins’ 12-round, unanimous decision over William Joppy at Boardwalk Hall.
“I’ve been involved with boxing over 20 years as a fighter and a promoter, so I’ve probably met everyone at some point,” Hopkins, 43, said Thursday. “Just because I’ve met someone doesn’t mean I’m friends with them.”
Hopkins’ publicist Kelly Swanson said that Hopkins is concerned about the entire incident.
“Bernard was concerned about what happened, but it had nothing to do with replacing Earl Morton,” she said. “He was wondering why anyone would be replaced just three days before a big fight like this. This is a dangerous fight for Bernard and the fact that Bob Arum has that kind of power makes him wonder if he’s really going to get a fair shake in the ring.”
The referee could play a major role Saturday.
Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) might not have become middleweight champion if not for Smoger’s familiarity with his recuperative powers. Pavlik was in serious trouble after getting knocked down by then-champ Jermain Taylor during their clash at Boardwalk Hall 13 months ago. But Pavlik eventually recovered and wound up knocking out Taylor five rounds later to win the title.
Both Smoger and Esteves have officiated Hopkins’ fights before and are aware of the tactics he sometimes uses to intimidate and frustrate opponents. Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs) says he’s not a dirty fighter and prefers the term physical.
“To me, a dirty fighter is someone who picks something up and hits the other guy over the head with it,” Hopkins said with a smile. “But Kelly Pavlik is going to be out of his element on Saturday. It’s going to be a gritty fight. I’m going to be banging him in the kidneys and ribs and I might slip up and hit him in the (protective) cup, but not on purpose.”