Jones-Tarver rematch gets two new judges

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

Two of the three judges who worked the first fight between Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones Jr. were not retained for the May 15 rematch, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission appointed officials for the bout on Wednesday.

Only Jerry Roth, of Las Vegas, was brought back for the rematch. He will be joined by two other Las Vegans, Duane Ford and Dave Moretti, as the NSAC decided to put its best known and highest regarded judges on the fight.

A fourth Las Vegan, Jay Nady, will referee.

Those assignments should please Tarver, who was irate at the scoring in his first fight with Jones. That night, Roth scored the bout even but Glenn Hamada had it 117-111 and Dave Harris had it 116-112, both for Jones.

Hamada's score was "too wide," agreed NSAC executive director Marc Ratner, although he said Tarver's handlers "absolutely did not" protest Hamada's appointment as one of the fight's judges in spite of Tarver's claim they were leery of him beforehand.

"Somebody needs to look into that," Tarver said of Hamada being picked to work the first fight. "A major injustice was done."

He feels the judges gave rounds to Jones solely on the basis of his reputation.

"Roy Jones got a lot of credit for being Roy Jones," he said. "Never once did I get hurt, get stunned -- never once. And to win a round you've got to hit the man (and) I blocked everything he threw at me.

"Do I have to dominate the man every minute of every round? Let the man stand on his own -- he don't need no help."