The worst job in boxing

Mills Lane explaining why he disqualified Mike Tyson

By Sport Online's Sanjeev Shetty

It is the job that no one wanted. Generally a thankless task, being a referee for a boxing match will take on a new dimension when Mike Tyson and Andrew Golota square off on Friday in Michigan.

Between them, the two men have racked up three disqualifications, incurred over a dozen penalty points and have earned a reputation for being the two dirtiest brawlers in modern boxing.

For one reason or another, the men who have occasionally been able to control the pair are not available to handle this one. Mills Lane, who threw out Tyson after he bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's, is now retired, whilst Mitch Halpern, the referee who kept it clean and fair when Tyson and Holyfield met the first time, tragically took his own life earlier this year.

The likes of Richard Steele, Joe Cortez and Randy Neumann have all been ignored in favour of unknown Frank Garza, who will receive just $350 for his night's work, and steps into the frame for a night which promises to be wild and controversial.

To give an indication of what to expect, have a look at these comments from another referee, Wayne Kelly, before Golota's first fight against Riddick Bowe, a bout he lost by disqualification.

Obey

"I told him, 'Andrew, I want you to know something. I've seen you fight, and I'm aware of your tactics. I expect a clean fight tonight, and I expect you to obey my commands at all times.' All Golota did was look at me and say, 'I do what I have to do to win.' That's a direct quote; I'll never forget it. And I told him, 'Not in my ring.'"

No one really knows what to expect from the fight, in the same way that no one really has any idea as to how Garza will measure up to the task of handling two big men with a penchant for breaking the rules.

"I'm going to go into the dressing room and say they're absolved for their past history," said Garza after being introduced to the media.

"I told him, 'Andrew, I want you to know something. I've seen you fight, and I'm aware of your tactics. I expect a clean fight tonight, and I expect you to obey my commands at all times.' All Golota did was look at me and say, 'I do what I have to do to win.'

  Referee Wayne Kelly

Garza admitted that he had received support from the general public ahead of what promises to be the biggest and most difficult night of his career.

Of his upcoming big night, Garza said, "This is my moment. My wife isn't even coming to the fight. She wants this to be my night."

The 48-year-old sayd he would disqualify either man for biting but also confessed that he was so in awe of the occasion, he had asked both men to sign autographs.