Dubious referee picked for Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito
A referee has been selected for the November 13 mega-bout between congressman-fighter Manny Pacquiao and alleged cheater Antonio Margarito.
The esteemed Laurence Cole will be the third man in the ring for the bout, the Texan who likewise refereed the controversial Super Six bout between Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell in which Abraham was disqualified for hitting Dirrell after he slipped to
the canvas.
Neither Pacquiao nor Margarito’s camp seems to have voiced complaint over the decision.
Cole was considered in Pacquiao’s previous outing against the petrified Joshua Clottey, but was ultimately overlooked for San Antonio’s Rafael Ramos.
According to Michael Marley of the Boxing Examiner, Cole has been considered a “competent but erratic” referee.
His father likewise used to manage the Texas boxing commission, putting him in a unique position for the fight.
Margarito was only able to accept a fight with Pacquiao because he was able to obtain a boxing license from Texas, after other state commissions in Nevada and California refused him following a January 2009 incident where a hardened substance was found in
his hand wraps.
Cole is the owner of a Dallas insurance agency and boasts a high number of boxer-clients who seek him out for professional insurance. Perhaps his best client is the Mexico City based World Boxing Council (WBC).
It probably goes without saying that Pacquiao and Margarito will be fighting for the WBC junior middleweight title.
Marley suggests that some have found the picking of Cole as referee dubious considering the relationship between him and the WBC.
On Cole’s insurance agency’s website, he says: “The World Boxing Council was the first boxing organization to introduce life and medical insurance for boxing. For 11 years Laurence Cole Insurance Agency has provided our life and medical coverage for all
WBC World Title Fights as well as Affiliate Championships all over the world. The quality of their service has been outstanding, and without doubt we will recommend this company to anyone looking for an efficient and easy to work with insurance provider."
Dubious allegiance, anyone?
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