Will Ramos tolerate Clottey's shenanigans?

MANILA, Philippines - Former US Army boxer Rafael Ramos, a retired sergeant first class, will be the third man in the ring when Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey face off in a WBO welterweight title fight at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this morning (Manila time). It’s his responsibility to make sure the bout is fair and square.

With Clottey’s history of resorting to foul tactics, Ramos must be on his toes to watch for headbutting, low blows, hitting on the break, holding, elbowing and lacing.

Ramos, 53, is a no-nonsense referee with over 20 years of experience. He has worked over 300 fights, including about 50 world title matches, all over the world. While Ramos has never officiated in the Philippines, his resume lists assignments in other Asian countries like Japan, Korea and Thailand.

In 1992, Ramos worked the WBA lightflyweight championship bout between Hiroki Ioka and Filipino challenger Noel Tunacao in Fukuoka. Last year, he was applauded for his work in the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz bout in Houston.

Interim WBA superflyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. said Ramos must step in quickly to prevent untoward incidents.

“The referee has a huge responsibility,” said Donaire. “We don’t know how he’ll work this fight. He hasn’t worked a fight with Manny or Clottey. You could have a referee who overlooks foul tactics or just issues warnings without ever taking away points or won’t stand for shenanigans and go for a quick disqualification. We don’t know how he’ll react to situations. Let’s just hope he keeps the fight clean and asserts his authority.”

Donaire said he’s more worried about Clottey hitting Pacquiao on the back of the head than butting. Because Pacquiao is shorter and frisky, he explained that Clottey will find it difficult to charge in with his head jutting out like a battering ram. But the danger is when a southpaw like Pacquiao battles a right-hander like Clottey, there will be instances of head-banging.

Ramos wasn’t the first choice for the Pacquiao-Clottey job. Laurence Cole was originally picked by the WBO but was thumbed down by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation executive director William Kuntz. Cole’s resume is tainted with a fine and a suspension. And he incorrectly ruled a knockdown on Pacquiao in the first Marco Antonio Barrera fight when it was clearly a slip caused by the Mexican stepping on the Filipino’s foot.

“You have to be honest with yourself and the fighters,” said Ramos, quoted by John Whisler. “You have to allow the fighters to fight as long as they stay within the rules. And you have to be consistent.”

Veteran matchmaker Wayne Harrison described Ramos as “a world-class referee (who) knows what it means to be neutral, when to step in and when not to – he does a very professional job.”

The three judges for the bout are veteran Duane Ford of Las Vegas , Levi Martinez of New Mexico and Nelson Vasquez of Puerto Rico. Ford, 72, is the “oldtimer” in the group with over 40 years of experience as a judge. He was assigned to Pacquiao’s previous bouts against Miguel Cotto, Marquez (rematch) and Erik Morales (rubber match). Ford was a judge when Clottey beat Zab Judah on a technical decision for the IBF welterweight title in 2008.

Vasquez, 57, has been a judge for over 10 years. Two of the title bouts he worked involved Filipinos Jesus Salud and Eric Jamili.

Pacquiao is no stranger to dirty fighters. In 2001, he took on the late Agapito Sanchez of the Dominican Republic and was clearly bothered by his opponent’s vile tactics. Sanchez did his best impersonation of fabled rule-breaker Sandy Saddler as he butted, wrestled and hit Pacquiao below the belt. Referee Marty Denkin stopped it in the sixth round after the ringside physician ruled Pacquiao unfit to continue due to cuts inflicted by butts. Instead of disqualifying Sanchez outright, Denkin went to the scorecards and the outcome was a split technical draw.

If not for two points that Denkin deducted from Sanchez for low blows, Pacquiao would’ve lost by a split technical decision. The worst incident came in the fourth round when Sanchez struck Pacquiao on the leg, keeling over the Filipino who grimaced in pain and dropped to the canvas. Denkin allowed a grace period of five minutes for Pacquiao to recover.

In 1963, Ghanaian challenger Love Allotey faced Filipino world junior lightweight champion Flash Elorde at the Araneta Coliseum and employed every trick not in the Queensberry book to look for a way to win. He was penalized a point for a low blow in the fifth and another point for butting in the eighth before referee Jimmy Valencia threw him out for continuous fouling in the 11th. Elorde left the ring bleeding profusely from a cut over the right eye caused by a butt.

There appears to be more in common with Clottey and Allotey than just being Ghanaian.