Davis notes Thurman’s ‘improved’ arsenal

In yesterday’s column, it was revealed that a Filipino boxing judge Jonathan Davis of Cebu was assigned to work Keith Thurman’s fight against Puerto Rico’s Carlos Quintana in Ontario in 2012. Davis recalled that Thurman dominated the bout from the start and forced Quintana to retire, not just from the fight and but also from his boxing career. He said Manny Pacquiao can’t afford to take the undefeated Thurman lightly when they clash for the WBA welterweight unified title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on July 20.

“Thurman has improved so much since then as in his recent fights, prior to Josesito Lopez, he has shown he’s not just all attacking mode,” said Davis. “He can also box and counterpunch and uses speed and lateral movements. He has an improve arsenal. The Pacquiao-Thurman fight is huge and could go down as the most important fight of the year. It will be a tough and interesting fight.”

Davis hesitated to make a prediction on the outcome of the contest. As a licensed professional boxing referee, he’s not at liberty to publicly express views and preferences on any match. Davis said he won’t be in Las Vegas to watch the bout. “I usually just watch Manny’s fights on pay-per-view with relatives in a festive get-together,” he said.

Davis, who earned a Business Administration degree at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City in 1970, lives in Anaheim, near Los Angeles, with his wife Marissa Ramirez. They’ve been married 36 years. His wife is an Accounting graduate of San Carlos and was a Far East Bank Cebu manager. She is currently employed with the Tenet Group of Health Services in Anaheim as a biller-coder. They have three children.

The oldest Johanna Carolina, 34, is a finance manager of GMC Buick Cadillac and Honda in Woodland Hills, California. She has an associate degree in psychology at Mount San Antonio College in San Dimas, California. Their son Jonas Alexis, 30, is a criminal justice graduate of California State University in Fullerton. He works at Disneyland Anaheim as a server and has pending applications with law enforcement agencies but has his sights on joining the L.A. Police Department. On the side, he gets assignments from Filipino writer Homer Sayson to cover NBA games in Southern California for Dong Secuya’s philboxing.com website. The youngest son Jason Brent is also a Fullerton graduate and is completing his Master’s degree studies at Southern California University of Health Services in Whittier to be a doctor of chiropractic.

Davis’ last visit to the Philippines was in May last year when he was a judge in the IBF minimumweight title eliminator between Mark Anthony Barriga and Colombia’s Gabriel Mendoza. He went to Cebu City after the fight for a short vacation before flying back to L. A.

Davis said his dream fight is to be a judge in one of Pacquiao’s mega fights in Las Vegas. “It would be icing on the cake before I retire my pen,” he said. As for his philosophy in judging a fight, Davis said: “I believe the key thing a judge has to keep in mind in every fight, whether it’s a high-profile championship 12-rounder or just a four-rounder for a start-up or a debuting boxer, is total focus and concentration and no distraction from the first until the last round. Sometimes, we stand up and leave our chair to not miss the punches when our sights are inadvertently blocked by over-eager photographers or by the referee’s back. In California, the Commission reviews all fights in a post-fight meeting and officials are evaluated and critiqued if need be. We can’t afford an off-night but we just have to prove ourselves every time even if we’re perfect and praised in our last fight. As they say, you’re only as good as your last performance.”

As the first Filipino boxing judge licensed in California and second in the US after Carlos (Sonny) Padilla in Las Vegas, Davis has come a long way in bringing honor to the Philippines. His competence, impartiality and sense of integrity are well-known in the boxing industry.