Boxing / Richard Hoffer : How Does Referee Know for Sure When a Fighter Has Had Enough?

A referee either stops a fight too soon or too late, it seems. When else does anyone notice the ref?

Monday night at the Forum, before Chris Schwenke fell into a coma, it appeared to some that referee John Thomas stopped one just right. He allowed plenty of action but, to all appearances, jeopardized neither fighter’s safety.

Now, with Schwenke trying to recover from brain surgery, at least some are wondering how much action is enough.

Schwenke, who had lost every round to the highly ranked Prince Mohammed, was absorbing a terrible beating before finally being knocked down in the final round. But then that’s what Schwenke has done best in this last part of his career.

At the time, as usual, he did not appear to have been badly hurt by the blows, and he even shadow-boxed in his corner to show the fans that he was all right. He walked from the ring on his own and talked and joked.

But he lapsed into a coma in his dressing room and was immediately taken to Daniel Freeman Hospital, where he underwent brain surgery. He has since improved, giving hope to all concerned.

Still, it is natural to wonder whether a catcher like Schwenke, a fighter who is valued for his ability to take a punch and go the distance, should have been allowed to go quite so far, to catch quite so many punches.

Catchers, regrettably, are part of boxing, and Schwenke, who has lost some of his recent bouts, was not employed at the Forum to upset the World Boxing Council’s No. 2 light-heavyweight. He was employed to offer tough, stand-up opposition, just as he had in a previous fight at the Forum. Last year, against Tim Harris, Schwenke suffered a typical pounding, according to one observer. Yet he went the distance, did his job.

When should a referee stop a fight, saying the job is done? It is hard to tell. Without the evidence of brain injury, there would be no reason to second-guess the referee. If Schwenke had left the Forum and partied the night away, no one would have given Thomas’ decision a second thought. But if Schwenke continues to struggle for his life in a hospital bed, the same judgment call is suspect.

To help referees, the local athletic commission, which is certainly well intentioned, had hoped to schedule an emergency meeting of referees to review this important aspect of boxing. Chief inspector Joey Olmos had hoped to gather the referees and “review the tapes with some physicians present, and just kick it around, rehash certain duties of the ref.”

That idea was quashed later in the week by the state commission, which said that a meeting of referees had been held recently enough. In any event, Olmos insisted that the Schwenke beating had not prompted his idea, and he stressed that the commission found no negligence in any aspect of the fight.

“As a matter of fact, it was prompted by the opposite,” he said. “A manager says his fighter was stopped too soon recently down in San Diego. Said he was going to file suit.”

It’s always either too soon or too late, when you notice at all.

Happy Anniversary: Three Olympic gold medalists will celebrate their triumphs a year later with network TV bouts at the Hollywood Palladium. For Paul Gonzales, the light-flyweight who burst from the East Los Angeles barrios to win a gold medal last year, the Aug. 11 fight will be his long-awaited pro debut. Gonzales, who hasn’t fought since the 1984 Olympics because of a bad hand, will be matched with Jose (Pulga) Torres on the CBS-TV card.

Also on the card, which is being promoted by Don Chargin and Dr. Phil Young, are gold medalists Henry Tillman and Frank Tate. Tillman, the heavyweight champion, will be fighting Oscar Holman in Tillman’s hometown pro debut. Tillman has scored four knockouts in his five victories.

The other gold medalist is middleweight Frank Tate, who, going after his 10th straight win, will fight Thomas (Mad Dog) Smith.

CBS, which is making its first telecast of any of the Olympic boxers, has been very active in the matchmaking of this card. Originally, Tillman was set to face Larry Phelps, who had a 9-2 record. But Mort Sharnik of CBS asked who had beaten Phelps. “Get one of those,” he said.

The purses for the three gold medalists are not exactly Olympian. Gonzales will be paid $20,000, a lot for a pro debut, but probably not as much as he had been dreaming about. Tillman will get $15,000 and Tate $10,000.

Boxing Notes Undefeated Michael Nunn will headline the Country Club show in Reseda Monday night in a middleweight bout with veteran opponent James Waire. Dan Goossen, of the Ten Goose stable that provides fighters for the monthly shows, said that the promotion is nearly sold out, making it the fifth straight money maker after what he called 2 1/2 years of “investing” there. Nunn, whose six victories have all been by knockout, is scheduled to go to Las Vegas Aug. 22 for an ESPN show at the Showboat. . . . The Stroh’s welterweight tournament will continue at the Forum, Aug. 20, with two elimination bouts. Derrick Kelly will fight Francisco Roacha in one, and Alphonso Long will box Eric Martin in the other. . . . The Irvine Marriott will have another show Aug. 26, and promoter Don Fraser has dedicated the card to veteran manager Jackie McCoy. Five of McCoy’s fighters will be boxing, among them lightweight contender Cubanito Perez, who will fight Paul Barton. Younger brother Tomas Perez will fight Tony Thomas in a junior-middleweight bout. Also scheduled is a heavyweight bout between Avery Rawls and Keith Moore. Fraser exceeded a $28,000 gate, a sellout-plus, at his last monthly show. . . . A title fight between World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion Juan Meza and former WBC bantamweight champion Lupe Pintor has been made by promoter Don King for Aug. 18, but a spokesman said that no site has been set. The fight is rumored for Tijuana. . . . The Aug. 1 show at the Sports Arena has been rescheduled for Aug. 15 at the Olympic Auditorium. Mario (Azabache) Martinez of Mexico City will fight Rod Sequenan of Manila, the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion. It appears that Aurelio Robles and Jimmy Gilio will be doing their promoting at the Olympic.