Ivan Montiel: I’m here with a man that needs no introduction. He’s a hall of fame referee with a great catch line.

 

Joe Cortez: Yes, I am fair but firm. How are you guys doing?

 

IM: We here at Boxingtalk are doing great. I’ve been wondering, what is the latest what have you been up to?

 

JC: After getting COVID, I was off for five to six months but I am back again. I have been out of the hospital for almost one year. I was in bad shape but thanks to God, I made and here I am back in my gym. It’s a place I work out at. I work out every day. I call it rehab. I hit my punching bag every day. 

 

IM: It’s good to know that you’re feeling better… so you’re back in shape?

 

JC: Back in shape buddy. I had lost 40 pounds. I gained back 20. I am feeling good right now. I keep myself nice and trim. I am ready to go man. I keep working out. I keep my muscles going. I keep going on every day.

 

IM: How old are you?

 

JC: How young am I?

 

IM: (Laughs) How young are you?

 

JC: I am 78 years young. You know what there’s a lot of guys out there half my age who can’t keep up with me. I love to work out. I sometimes get on my speed bag.

 

IM: Are you still living in Las Vegas?

 

JC: Yes, I am. 

 

IM: I am a lot younger than you but I can’t do what you’re doing.

 

JC: You have to start going to the gym buddy.

 

IM: (Laugh) I love to eat.

 

JC: My gym is also my man cave.

 

IM: It’s more like a boxing museum. That must motivate you.

 

JC: Oh yeah. Once you keep working out and stay active. I have pictures of everyone like Antonio Tarver in that Rocky film.

 

IM: Mason Dixon. What was that like?

 

JC: It was amazing. I even have a picture of myself working that fight between Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe.

 

IM: You’ve worked so many big fights. Talk to us about that Hopkins versus Calzaghe fight say what do you remember most about that fight?

 

JC: That was a hell of a fight. It was a great fight. Calzaghe retired undefeated. I also worked Calzaghe versus Chris Eubank, Sr. Now Calzaghe is retired enjoying life.

 

IM: You’ve worked so many big fights say out of all of them which fight stands out the most?

 

JC: There’s several but from the top of my head one is Julio Cesar Chavez versus Oscar De La Hoya in their first fight. Also Chavez versus Greg Haugen with 132,000 fans in attendance in Mexico. Roberto Duran versus Iran Barkley. I can go on and on, I worked Mike Tyson fights eight times. I also worked Larry Holmes fights. I recall that Mike Tyson versus Kevin McBride fight. I had to deduct two points from Tyson for head butting McBride. I was sorry to do that but I have to do my job as a referee. I like Mike Tyson but whenever he gets frustrated he freaks out he starts going crazy. What happened in his second fight against Evander Holyfield… Mills Lane reffed that fight. Tyson said if I worked that fight with Holyfield that ear bite would have not happened. Tyson said that Holyfield was intentionally head butting him and Mills Lane was not doing anything. Tyson got pissed off and bit Holyfield to stop the butting. 

 

IM: So what would have you’ve done in that fight?

 

JC: I would have made sure that Tyson had his dinner before that fight. That way he would have not been hungry in that ring. You know something, it’s about taking control in that dressing room. I would have said I want a good clean fight, obey my command at all times. If you start committing any fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct, I will take away points or disqualify you. Do you understand that? Make sure that Tyson gets that in his head. Then once inside that ring I would say we went through everything in the dressing room. Give me a clean fight, remember good sportsman like conducts guys. No disqualification. Touch them up and before you know it I get better control that way. I see something going wrong I stop the action right away. If I am going to take points I will do it right away. This way I would make sure that both fighters know I am not playing around. Once things get out of control for too long, by then it’s too late. 

 

IM: You were once a fighter therefore you know what it’s like to be a fighter.

 

JC: That’s right I once had two fights in the Madison Square Gardens in one night. I fought there for the Eastern Golden Gloves Championship. That type of stuff doesn’t happen anymore. I became champion along with my brother Mike. When then went on to fight in Chicago to fight for the National championships. Oscar German beat Emanuel Stewart and I beat Oscar German for the Intercity Golden Gloves Championships. I was 17 years of age with little hair on my head. I then turned professional with boxrec having me 12-1 but I am actually 18-1 because I had fights in Mexico that were not recorded. I did okay as a fighter, I was never hurt and dropped. I never got cut, I was pretty lucky. The name of the game was hit and don’t get hit. That’s what I did for my career. Whenever I worked fights I would look out for those fighters taking too much punishment. I would go to the corners, talk to fighters saying you’re taking too much punishment, show me something next round if not I will have to stop this fight. I would give fighters a heads up, warnings you know. It looks better going to those corners showing concern that way everyone will see if a fighter is getting beat up the ref is concerned. To take unnecessary punishment I had to go in there to stop it. Nobody will complain since I gave them every opportunity. You know sometimes fighters get out of control. For example, Victor Ortiz with his head butts against Floyd Mayweather Jr. I was the ref for that fight, Ortiz started with the head butts and that was because he was getting beat, he felt the pressure, most likely his corner told him to jump in with his head butts trying to stop Mayweather. Now by doing that Ortiz got himself knocked out. That was a legal sucker punch when Mayweather Jr knocked out Ortiz. Once I said time in, I immediately looked at the time keeper to make sure that he saw me. The next thing I knew Ortiz was going to hug and kiss Mayweather for the third time and Floyd clocked him. It would have never happened to Ortiz, he’s a nice kid I like him. As a matter, a fact we’ve met several times, we had him on ESPN deportes and we interviewed him. At the end of the day he told us that his corner told him to head butt Mayweather Jr. That made things bad for him so he got rid of his team. It’s like Mike Tyson whenever he loses his cool, that’s what happens. That’s what happens when a corner tells their fighter to start hitting low to commit fouls, to use head butts and elbows all that type of stuff is a no no in Boxing. There are times when us refs get criticize for taking away points. Now with Victor Ortiz I did everything right. I told Larry Merchant that these are the rules, that every fighter must protect themselves at all times. 

 

IM: I totally agree with the outcome of that Mayweather versus Ortiz fight although there were some boxing fans who were upset. I totally agree with what you did.

 

JC: I feel sorry for Victor Ortiz. I think that he had potential to go far with boxing. Ortiz could have got a little better but anyone who fights Mayweather it’s a learning lesson like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez it was a blessing in disguise when he fought Mayweather. When Canelo says he got beat yet he learned something in that fight and that made him a better fighter. Canelo never used rough tactics he never got dirty he fought a clean fight. Now look at Canelo he’s one of the best fighters just look at the books. His fight record yes, he only has one defeat. Let’s not forget some of the greatest fighters have lost like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran I am talking about the legends of boxing. Having losses doesn’t mean a fighter is finished. There’s also boxing legends like Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez they all go down as the greats of boxing. We have to respect them for their ring mechanics. These fighters showed us something and that’s to be great. Not every fighter becomes great. Not every fighter ends up being inducted into the International Hall of Fame. I have this picture frame from the International Boxing Hall of Fame with myself, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Joe Calzaghe. I remember getting inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011 with Stallone, Kostya Tszyu, Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez and Nacho Beristain. It was an honor for me to get inducted with these great boxing legends. You know what was a special moment for me, it was the night I worked my final fight with Canelo Alvarez versus Josesito Lopez. After that fight Canelo put that WBC belt on me. 

 

IM: Do you miss boxing; do you miss working those big fights?

 

JC: No, I don’t miss it. I worked 35 years. I did what I had to do with boxing. I feel like I did it all. Everyone says I worked 176 world title fights. I worked close to 1,000 professional fights. I have been inducted into four separate Hall of Fames. Man I can’t ask for anything more. It’s been an honor doing movies for example, Play It To The Bones starring Antonio Banderas. I also worked with Wesley Snipes in Undisputed. I also worked with Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa. I worked with Eddie Murphy in the movie I Spy. I did a little of everything therefore I can’t complain. Now what I do is try to help out other refs getting them in the right track. I want to help other refs the best I can. I want to continue talking on air the way I am doing right now so that other refs can hear me. If I did it they can do it. I am not better than anyone else. Everything I did, I tried harder. 

 

IM: You know what I think is that a lot of us don’t realize how tough it is to be a boxing ref.

 

JC: It’s not easy buddy. It’s a tough job but I had to do what I had to do to stay active. I made sure I did the best I could in that ring. The main thing was to protect the fighters by enforcing the rules. I had to protect fighters from taking unnecessary punishment that’s the most important job being a ref. I always give other refs good advice, they always call to see how I am doing. I am constantly watching every fight making sure that these refs are doing their job the way they are supposed to be doing. If they make mistakes they call me for advice. It’s no big deal, I also made mistakes throughout my career. We are all humans. We have to keep moving forward never look back. Look forward and get ready for the next fight. Learn from that fight or learn from other mistakes but keep moving forward. That right there will make them a better ref. Arthur Mercante Sr. was a great ref. Larry Hazzard was also a great ref. Zach Clayton was one of the best refs. I learned a lot from Clayton he sure taught me a lot of moves. Clayton told me to be like a cat in that ring. Clayton used to play for The Harlem Globetrotters. It was like playing basketball he would say keep moving.  Tap fighters on their elbows, but don’t be breaking them all the time. Keep the flow of the action going. That’s what makes one a better ref, by listening to the veteran refs. Don’t think that you’re the best, simply try harder. I am glad that I was able to make it to become one of the top refs in boxing. 

 

IM: We spoke about Mike Tyson say were you ever afraid while working his fights?

 

JC: You know what you can’t go in there being afraid. You can’t think that you will get hit just be careful. I always say if you give loud commands from the outside of that ring the fighters will listen. There are some refs who come in that ring saying break without being loud they will get hit. I have seen it happen before just don’t go in there to break it up without going in from the outside. When I said break I meant break it up clean. I would say it could cost you a point or you could be disqualified. They had to understand that they had to break under my command. That avoids refs from getting hit. All those years of working as a ref I never got hit. I did however get hit on my leg one time by Mike Tyson. One of his opponents was going down towards the ropes all of sudden Tyson threw a punch as I jumped in there to protect that guy falling and got hit on my leg. The next day I looked at my thigh it was black and blue. It’s a good thing Mike Tyson didn’t catch me on my face. 

 

IM: Mike Tyson sure was wild, a wild fighter.

 

JC: Yeah Mike Tyson sure goes down as one of the greats of boxing. It doesn’t matter about his losses or that famous ear bite. Mike Tyson goes down as one of the greatest of all times.

 

IM: Who are some of your all-time favorite fighters?

 

JC: Roberto Duran he was a great fighter. I worked about four of his fights. Duran not only beat Barkley but he put The Blade down. Julio Cesar Chavez. George Foreman. I remember the time Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to become world heavyweight champion that was a fight I also worked. I never got the chance to work a Muhammad Ali fight since he was retiring while I was just starting. But I am glad that we are able to talk it was great. 

 

IM: Now before I let you go, we have Errol Spence versus Yordenis Ugas coming up. What’s your prediction?

 

JC: As an official I really don’t like to make predictions but I will tell you one thing it’s not an easy fight for either fighter. That’s a toss-up type of fight. Spence is good but let’s see what he has after his motorcycle accident. Ugas has that height and good punching power with good experience he sure is no pushover. Ugas has a lot of talent and he still has that hunger. Ugas wants to get that big win. Remember guys I am fair but firm.