Thomas Taylor: Referee of the Year for Cruz vs Bravo Fight?

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (29-3-2, 19 KOs) landed a leaping left hook to finish Nestor Bravo (24-2, 17 KOs) in the sixth round of a wild fight in San Diego, California. All praise to Cruz, who now opens the door to potential fights with Ryan Garcia and Dalton Smith after defending his WBC 140 lbs title.

It's also worth noting that the referee who counted out Bravo was very much involved in this fight — for the better. Thomas Taylor should be on the Referee of the Year shortlist.

Taylor is no stranger to boxing's biggest nights, having been the third man in the ring for Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford, Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia, and Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios.

In round one, Cruz put Nestor Bravo on the deck, and from there it became a foul-filled affair. Taylor repeatedly had to intervene as the action grew rough, yet he maintained control without becoming needlessly intrusive. Nestor Bravo fought like a man who just realized he had an important engagement anywhere but the boxing ring. This was a guy who didn't want to be there and was potentially trying to foul his way out.

Notable point deductions

Taylor took two points from Bravo for fouls, one apiece in the second and fourth rounds. For some, that might seem excessive. In reality, Taylor turned ring chaos into a boxing match.

Taylor took a point from Bravo less than a minute into the second round for excessive holding. He took another just 18 seconds into the fourth round after Bravo flung Cruz to the canvas.

There could easily have been another deduction for low blows. Cruz is officially 5 feet 4 inches, and Bravo had a 6½-inch reach advantage, so finding the real estate well below Cruz's belt several times was quite an achievement.

Cruz sometimes complained of incidents that Taylor dismissed as accidents. Cruz also got his share of warnings, but in Taylor's eyes, Bravo instigated the worst fouls.

Do disqualified fighters get paid?

At one point, Taylor even physically steered Bravo back toward his corner. Better that than eventually being steered in front of the California State Athletic Commission. Taylor warned him that another foul could result in disqualification and, memorably, told him that if he got disqualified, he would not get paid.

That isn't technically true. Athletic commissions differ, and a disqualification itself does not necessarily wipe out a fighter's purse. But commissions can withhold purses and impose fines following serious misconduct.

Perhaps the most famous example came when Mike Tyson was disqualified against Evander Holyfield after biting off a portion of his ear in their 1997 fight. Nevada initially withheld Tyson's purse while it reviewed the incident. The commission eventually fined him $3 million — 10 percent of his $30 million purse — and revoked his license.

The referee for that fight was Mills Lane, the most famous judge of his era. Taylor might not be that famous yet, but he deserves more recognition from boxing fans. He is a referee who gets it right. Some people in boxing believe the less we hear from the referees, the better, and that is true, but when a referee does a good job, they should be praised. Yes, Taylor was more of a presence in this fight than is usual, but this was a fight like few others.

Here was a referee who refused to allow repeated warnings to become meaningless. He escalated from warnings to a point deduction to an explicit threat of disqualification. When Bravo fouled again, Taylor could have thrown him out.

Instead, he deducted a second point and gave Bravo one final opportunity to box.

That is good refereeing. Taylor imposed consequences without making himself the main event, and somehow forged a very watchable prize fight out of chaos.

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