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Round 2 Judges selected for Holyfield-Lewis rematch
Posted: Tuesday November 09, 1999 11:41 AM
LAS VEGAS (AP)-- An all-American group of judges was picked Friday for the Nov. 13 rematch between heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Their March bout in New York ended in a controversial draw. Most ringsiders gave Lewis the fight, but the only judge to score the match for Holyfield -- the IBF and WBA titlist -- was the judge chosen by the IBF. The referee for the rematch in Las Vegas will be Mitch Halpern, and the judges will be Chuck Giampa, Bill Graham and Jerry Roth, said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission. Unlike in New York, the sanctioning groups did not have a role, he said. "We did not pick them with sanctioning organizations. We picked them," Ratner said, noting that is required under Nevada law. All four are U.S. citizens licensed by Nevada, and have a total of 220 world championship fights among them, including 60 for Halpern, he said. Holyfield will meet Lewis, of England, the WBC champ, at the Thomas & Mack Center in a pay-per-view bout. Each is guaranteed $15 million. In the first fight, Holyfield was guaranteed $20 million and Lewis $10 million. Their March 13 fight at Madison Square Garden prompted a New York investigation, and the IBF judge also testified before a federal grand jury in Newark, N.J., that indicted top IBF officials this week in a bribery scandal regarding rankings. No charges were brought regarding the judge, Eugenia Williams of Atlantic City, N.J. Williams, who filed for bankruptcy before the fight, told the Newark grand jury that no one attempted to sway her decision, her lawyer has said. She judged the fight 115-113 for Holyfield. English judge Larry O'Connell scored it 115-115, while South African judge Stan Christodoulou favored Lewis, 116-113. After watching a replay, Williams testified in New York that she would have scored it differently had photographers not impeded her view.
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