Bayless tapped as 3rd man in mega bout

Kenny Bayless, who handled seven bouts of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, has been picked as third man on the ring for much-awaited fight between Pacquiao and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 (May 3 in Manila).

Based on online reports, the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) assigned Bayless and three veteran judges to work for the mega fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The judges include Dave Moretti of Las Vegas, Burt A. Clements of Reno and Glenn Feldman of Connecticut.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bayless has already worked seven previous fights of Pacquiao and five of Mayweather’s.

“We will only select officials with a proven track record of high-profile fights, with me evaluating a litany of statistical data to ensure these judges have been successful in high-impact fights,” Nevada commission executive director Bob Bennett said as quoted by the LA Times’ report.

Clements has been assigned as judge in Pacquiao’s fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004, which ended in a split decision.

Moretti, on the other hand, has worked nine of Mayweather’s 47-0 record and six times for Pacquiao’s bouts, while Feldman handled only one fight featuring Pacquiao and Mayweather.

Both camps of Pacquiao and Mayweather welcomed the selection of Bayless and the three veteran judges for what is termed as the richest boxing event.

”These are extraordinarily good officials from the standpoint of competency,” Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said.

”We’re very pleased with the selection of the officials. I have no doubt the officials will be very fair in judging the fight, and the referee will undoubtedly do a masterful job,” Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions said. PNA