Notes on a Scorecard - May 4, 1995

Oscar De La Hoya and Rafael Ruelas will be the headliners Saturday night at Caesars Palace. . . .

The next three most important people might be Glen Hamada, Mike Glienna and Jerry Roth. . . .

In a town known universally for its games of chance, fabulous showgirls and controversial boxing decisions, they will score the lightweight title fight. . . .

De La Hoya or Ruelas could make the mathematics academic by registering a knockout within the 12 rounds. . . .

Otherwise, the winner will be determined by the judges chosen by the Nevada State Athletic Commission upon recommendations submitted by the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization. . . .

Hamada is from Tacoma, Wash., Glienna from Chicago and Roth from Las Vegas. . . .

Two weeks ago, it was an all-Nevada tribunal that awarded heavyweight champion George Foreman a majority decision over Axel Schulz that was met with the approval of a minority of unofficial scorers. . . .

“I was at ringside for the fight, and I’ve watched it on tape three times since,” Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Marc Ratner said. . . .

“I have no problem with the decision at all. Foreman dominated the first half of the fight and then he looked 46 years old. Schulz finished strongly. It was a close fight that could have gone to either fighter by two points.” . . .

Thus, Ratner saw no reason to discipline any of the judges. . . .

He has taken action a few times during his three years on the job after what he deemed to be poor performances. . . .

Those judges found themselves working fewer world title fights. . . .

One of this Saturday’s judges, Roth, will be back after giving Foreman the nod over Schulz, 115-113. . . .

Roth, Hamada and Glienna each will be paid $1,800. The referee, Richard Steele, will get $2,400. . . .

Referees in Nevada have made as much as $6,000 and judges $4,000 for heavyweight title bouts. . . .

Then there was the scheduled light-heavyweight title bout between Victor Galindez and Mike Rossman at Caesars Palace in 1979 when nobody got paid. . . .

The match was canceled at virtually the last minute when Nevada Commissioner Sig Rogich rejected the World Boxing Assn.’s demand to have three judges from outside the United States work. . . .

“I’ll take our judges over those from anywhere else on a fight-by-fight basis,” Ratner said. “Most of our people have tremendous experience. Last year alone, there were 40 world title fights in the state.” . . .

All Nevada judges and referees attend two seminars a year conducted by Ratner, 50, who is also a Big West Conference football official and Nevada Las Vegas basketball timekeeper. . . .

“We look at tapes of fights from all over the world, discuss them, and try to come up with ways to improve,” he said. . . .

“At our last seminar, we talked about using more of the points available under the 10-point system. I hate rounds that are scored even, and there should be more 10-8 rounds.” . . .

What tips does Ratner have for someone trying to score the De La Hoya-Ruelas fight at home? . . .

1--Turn the sound off your TV set. . . .

2--Try to watch in a room with as few other people as possible. . . .

3--Watch the full three minutes of every round and don’t be influenced by flurries in the last 10 seconds. . . .

4--Don’t drink too much beer. . . .

*

Sign of the times: Tuesday’s Dodger-Giant game at Candlestick Park--or at least part of it--was televised to Japan, but not Los Angeles. . . .

This will be an important weekend for Raiderettes and Raiders. . . .

Raiderette tryouts will be Sunday at 8 a.m. at the Sheraton near LAX. . . .

New Coach Mike White will greet rookies and some veterans at a mini-camp in El Segundo Friday through Sunday. . . .

Fresno State has received 25,000 season-ticket requests for Jerry Tarkanian’s first campaign. . . .

The Forum will miss long-time General Manager Claire Rothman, who has moved to TicketMaster. . . .

The two worst decisions I’ve ever seen in Las Vegas were Willie Pastrano over Herald Johnson and Azumah Nelson over Jeff Fenech. . . .

Thumbs up to Ed and Charles O’Bannon and Cameron Dollar for their championship-caliber work with the Special Olympics in El Segundo and Glendale.