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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ruiz to officiate Nietes-Garcia

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THE World Boxing Organization has appointed Celestino Ruiz of Chicago as the referee for WBO light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes’ title defense against Mexico’s Raul “Rayito” Garcia in Bacolod City on May 28.

WBO Asia Pacific head Leon Panoncillo informed The Standard that Ruiz previously served as third man in the ring when Nietes demolished former WBC Silver champion Sammy Gutierrez in three rounds at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Nov. 30, 2013.

Ruiz has refereed two, four-round bouts this year and came under fire from Ted Sares on boxing.com for the manner in which he handled what Sares described as “a historical and wonderful fight between Kohei Kono and Koki Kameda” on Oct. 16, 2015.

Sares reported that the bout was “tainted by the overbearing referee when he hit a new low in the seventh round by threatening to stop the fight if either fighter committed another foul,” saying that Ruiz “may have cemented his inglorious place in the Boxing Hall of Shame with that one.”

However, the WBO clearly has faith in the ability of Ruiz and his appointment hasn’t been questioned either by the Nietes camp or that of challenger Garcia, the identical twin brother of Ramon Garcia Hirales, from whom Nietes won the title in Bacolod City on Oct. 8, 2011.

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The judges named by the WBO are veteran Robert Hoyle of Las Vegas, Nevada, Mike Fitzgerald of Wisconsin and Thailand’s Pinit Praysab.

The WBO supervisor is veteran referee Genaro “Gino”Rodriguez.

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