What You Need to Know About Referee, Judges Before Betting Mayweather-Pacquiao

What you need to know about referee, judges before betting Mayweather-Pacquiao | Article by Covers

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao have done the majority of the posturing for their May 2 superfight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – with some help from promoters, trainers and members of their camp. But perhaps the most important people in deciding who wins this highly-anticipated matchup won’t even throw a punch that Saturday night.

It was announced earlier this week that Mayweather (-205) vs. Pacquiao (+175) would be officiated by referee Kenny Bayless and judges Burt Clements, Dave Moretti (both from Nevada) and Glenn Feldman (from Connecticut). And with oddsmakers currently pricing this 12-round fight as a -300 favorite to go Over 11.5 rounds, this quartet not only holds the key to the biggest prize fight in the history of the sport but also a betting handle that is expected to rival that of the Super Bowl spread.

“To put the role in perspective, Mayweather and Pacquiao will be chopping up $200 million or so while the referee is going to make $25,000 and each judge $20,000 each,” renowned boxing and MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa of Oddessa.com tells Covers. “Really opens up the door for conspiracy theorists if any hiccups occur.”

The Nevada Athletic Commission has done their due diligence in selecting Bayless and the three judges, all of which are more than qualified to handle a bout of this magnitude and came without protest from either camp – an even greater stamp of approval as far as boxing pundits are concerned.

Bayless has officiated the top fights in the state of Nevada and is considered by most as the best referee in boxing. He’s worked five Mayweather bouts, including the Oscar De La Hoya fight in 2007, and most recently his rematch with Marcos Maidana in September 2014. It’s that fight that has peaked the attention of insiders.

Mayweather won that fight via unanimous decision, 115–112, 116–111, and 116–111 (Moretti), but Bayless was quick to break up the fighters every time Maidana tried to get inside on Mayweather – a tactic that would mirror Pacquiao’s style. He also took a point away from a frustrated Maidana after pushing Mayweather to the canvas.

“Maybe Bayless’ only fault is one can label him with not letting Maidana work much on the inside against Floyd where ideally Pacquiao may want to spend a good portion of the fight,” notes Oddessa. “It’s being brought up in the media, so it’s possible Bayless may be over-conscious of it to a fault, benefiting Pacquiao. But we would really be grasping for straws.”

As for the judges, Oddessa says all three are honest and accurate.

Feldman has only seen Mayweather once, which was a third-round KO of Miguel Melo in Connecticut back in 2004.

Clements has worked three Mayweather bouts, two going to the cards and the other a 10th-round knockout of Ricky Hatton. He’s judged Pacquiao’s split draw with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004, scoring 113-113 while the other two judges were at 115-110 on either fighter.

Moretti has the most experience with these two men over his career. He’s judged eight Mayweather bouts going back to 2005, including four straight heading into May 2. He’s also been a judge for five Pacquiao fights, most recently his decision win over Shane Mosley in 2012 and his decision victory in his third fight with Marquez in 2011, scoring the bout 115-113 with one judge having the fight as a 114-114 draw and another scoring 116-113 in favor of Pacquiao.

“It’s tough to find fault with the judges unless one were to nitpick a round here or there as they have been at the judges tables in Mayweather and Pacquiao bouts before,” says Oddessa. “Dave Moretti has seen Mayweather and Pacquiao almost two dozen occasions and I would call him honest and just maybe – if I had a gun to my head – maybe a little favorable to Floyd in past where others were not, but that’s a stretch.”

Action on this super bout opened with plenty of money on Pacquiao, Mayweather from around -300 to as low as -200 before big bets took that discounted line and up the odds to their current standing. Sportsbooks expect a push of public money on Pacquiao again come fight night with the sharp action waiting as late as possible to play Mayweather after the odds adjust.