The referee and judges for Mayweather vs Pacquiao

LAS VEGAS, USA – Three American judges will decide the outcome should the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Manny Pacquiao fight go the full twelve rounds, while a Nevada referee will police the action inside the ropes.

Kenny Bayless, a veteran of over 100 world title fights since being appointed by the state in 1991, will referee the action. Bayless has refereed many of their fights, including Mayweather’s pro debut in 1996 and his last fight against Marcos Maidana, plus Pacquiao’s knockout loss to Marquez. He also erred in calling a knockdown against Pacquiao in his fight with Shane Mosley.

The judges are Burt Clements, Glenn Feldman and Dave Moretti.

Moretti was one of the two judges who had Pacquiao beating Juan Manuel Marquez in their controversial third fight, which resulted in a majority decision. Burt Clements was the judge in the first Juan Manuel Marquez fight who erroneously scored the first round 10-7 for Pacquiao instead of 10-6, which made the fight a split draw.

Both Moretti and Clements are Nevada judges.

This will be the Connecticut-based Feldman’s first time scoring a Pacquiao fight, while he previously was assigned to score Mayweather’s third round TKO win over Miguel Melo in 1998.

(Mayweather vs Pacquiao 101: What you need to know)

The referee can deduct points for fouls such as excessive holding, intentional headbutts, intentional low blows, rabbit punching (hitting behind the head), hitting a downed opponent and numerous other infractions. A referee can halt a bout if one fighter is taking excessive punishment and is unable to defend himself, which results in a technical knockout for the advantaged boxer.

The judges score bouts on what is called a ten-point must system. The winner of a round earns 10 points while the loser earns 9. A fighter loses a point if he is knocked down, meaning that the advantaged fighter would win the round 10-8, with additional points deducted with each knockdown. An even round is scored 10-10.

Rounds are scored on the following criteria: Clean punching, ring generalship, defense and effective aggression, though the most important one is clean punching. HBO commentator Max Kellerman simplified the scoring process, saying something to the effect of “In a round, pick the fighter you would’ve rather been and there’s your winner.” – Rappler.com