Thomas Taylor will be the third man in the ring when Manny Pacquiao takes on WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, on July 19 and MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons said the other day he has no issues with the Newport Beach, California, referee despite a “little disagreement” when he worked Mark Magsayo’s fight against Brandon Figueroa two years ago.
“Taylor’s a very experienced referee who’s done a lot of big fights,” said Gibbons. “I did have a little disagreement with him in the Magsayo fight but overall, he’s a solid, good referee. I don’t see any issues with Manny or Barrios with his refereeing.” Gibbons referred to Magsayo’s loss on points to Figueroa when Taylor slapped a one-point deduction on Magnifico for holding in rounds eight and 11 in Ontario, California. Taylor ruled Figueroa’s cuts over the right eye in the fourth frame and over the left eye in the 10th were caused by accidental headbutts. Taylor was also the referee when Magsayo decisioned Eduardo Ramirez at MGM Grand last year.
Gibbons said judges Tim Cheatham of Nevada, Max DeLuca of New York and Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey are familiar with both Pacquiao and Barrios. “They’ve done some of Manny’s fights and some of Barrios’ fights,” he said. “No one’s completely gone one way or the other or have any red flags. They pretty much scored fights the way they went. Cheatham scored it for Manny over (Keith) Thurman, Weisfeld scored it for (Yordenis) Ugas over Manny.”
Cheatham also scored Pacquiao’s fight against Adrien Broner in 2019. Weisfeld was a judge in Pacquiao’s bouts against Ugas, Tim Bradley (third fight) and Juan Manuel Marquez (fourth fight). He had Pacquiao ahead, 47-46, when Marquez scored a KO in the sixth. DeLuca, who was WBC’s Judge of the Year in 2010 and whose father Dr. Mike was a ringside physician for over 20 years, has scored seven Barrios fights and only one with Pacquiao halting Emmanuel Lucero in Los Angeles in 2003.
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