Why prolong Romero's agony?

There was no doubt in American referee Michael Ortega’s mind that Mexican challenger Omar Niño Romero was headed for extinction when he stepped in to halt the carnage at 2:07 of the ninth round, declaring defending WBO flyweight champion Brian Viloria the winner by technical knockout.

Romero protested Ortega’s intervention but his cornermen didn’t. In fact, as Ortega was about to wave it off, Romero’s chief second Manuel Montiel Sr. entered the ring to throw in the towel. Ortega said his decision had nothing to do with Montiel’s act of surrender.

Ortega, 54, is known for his keen eye as a referee. Glenn Feldman, a judge in the Viloria-Romero bout, recalled an incident where Ortega held back from stopping the fight even as Antwun Echols was decked thrice by Charles Brewer in the second round in a 2001 brawl. “Mike saw something in Echols’ eyes that kept him from stopping it,” said Feldman. “Guess what? In the very next round, Echols knocked out Brewer.”

Ortega was also recognized for his work in the Carl Froch-Jermain Taylor fight for the WBC supermiddleweight crown in Mashantucket in 2009. Froch was behind in two of the three judges scorecards and would’ve lost by a split decision if Ortega didn’t stop the bout with 14 seconds left in the 12th. Ortega said when he’s in the ring, he couldn’t care less who’s ahead and will stop a fight if there is justification, regardless of the time remaining.

In Romero’s case, Ortega said he was in no condition to continue. Viloria was in total control and Romero was on the verge of collapse when he ended it. Romero’s legs were rubbery and only the ropes held him up. Thrice, he went back to the wrong corner at the sound of the bell during the fight, showing incoherence. “I didn’t want him to get hurt some more,” said Ortega.

Curiously, what prompted Ortega to become a professional referee was a tragedy that happened at Madison Square Garden in 1962 when he was only four years old. “What made me decide to become a referee was when I watched (Benny) Paret lose to (Emile) Griffith in 1962,” said Ortega. “I couldn’t sleep that night.” Paret died 10 days later because of injuries he suffered in the fight. Ortega felt he could help prevent ring tragedies by becoming a referee. In that fight, referee Ruby Goldstein was chastised for failing to stop the fight even as Paret was helpless in a corner absorbing merciless punishment from Griffith. An influence in Ortega’s career was Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez who came from a broken home and grew up living with the Ortega family.

Another influence was Ortega’s father Gaspar who figured in 176 fights in 1953-65, taking on world champions like Griffith, Ralph Dupas, Niño Benvenuti, Paret and Don Jordan. He never won a world title but was known as a tough opponent throughout his career.

Feldman, 57, said a highlight in his career as a boxing judge was when he was assigned to the panel for the WBA welterweight title fight between Miguel Cotto and Sugar Shane Mosley at Madison Square Garden in 2007. He has been a judge in 102 world championship bouts. “My policy is I don’t watch videos of the fighters before I judge their fight,” said Feldman. “Every fight is different. I don’t want to bring in any pre-conceived notions to a fight I’m judging.”

Another judge in the Viloria-Romero fight was former US Marine Carlos Ortiz Jr. of New York City. “I get asked it a lot but no, I’m not related to the former world champion Carlos Ortiz,” he said. “I’ve met him and it’s an honor for me that I have the same name.” An American of Puerto Rican descent, Ortiz Jr. boxed as an amateur in the Marines and has been a judge since 2006. He was in Bacolod last year on the panel for the WBO lightflyweight title bout between Donnie Nietes and Ramon Garcia.

The third judge was 34-year-old Filipino lawyer Danrex Tapdasan. It was his third WBO title fight assignment after Nietes-Garcia and Viloria’s defense against Giovani Segura last year. As a referee, Tapdasan worked three WPBF title fights in Ghana in 2010. Tapdasan will be back in Ghana as a judge for the May 26 meeting between Filipino Michael Domingo and Joseph (King Kong) Agbeko with the vacant IBO bantamweight title at stake.

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Boxing fans of yesteryears will remember that the hard-hitting Filipino knockout artist Bert Somodio, nicknamed the Nursery Kid, fought and lost to world lightweight champion Joe (Old Bones) Brown on a unanimous 15-round decision at the Araneta Coliseum in 1961. Somodio was 27 at the time. He was floored once in the fifth and once in the 11th by the legendary long-armed Louisiana ring craftsman. The scorecards read 74-62, 71-65 and 71-65. Title fights were then scheduled for 15 rounds and scoring was on a five-points-must system.

Trainer Freddie Roach’s Filipino protégé Marvin Somodio said he is related to the Nursery Kid, his grandfather’s cousin, although they’ve never met. Marvin said he’s not aware of Bert’s whereabouts. Bert would be 77 today if alive.  A former Oriental junior welterweight titlist, Bert was once world-rated and his biggest wins were over Venezuela’s Vicente Rivas (KO3), Mexico’s Cisco Andrade (W10) and American Tommy Tibbs (KO5).  He was outpointed by Flash Elorde in 1959.

Marvin said he’s the only fighter to emerge from his family, boxing as an amateur from 2000 to 2008. He regrets that his father Mario, a carpenter, died of a heart attack in 2009 at the age of 56 and never saw his development as a strength and conditioning coach.  Marvin, who is based in Baguio City as trainer of Anson Tiu Co’s fighters at the Shape-Up Gym in the Cooyesan Plaza Hotel, often visits his mother Luzvivina, 59, in Manila. He has no immediate plans of settling down as his girlfriend Sue Balmeyo – they were high school sweethearts – is still in school finishing Master’s studies in dentistry at UP.

Marvin joined Tiu Co in 2006 even while he was still in the ABAP national pool. He was introduced to Manny Pacquiao and Roach during the training for Miguel Cotto in Baguio in 2009. Last month, Pacquiao was joined by Marvin and running coach Brian Livingston of Nike Team Run LA in morning sprints. Livingston flew in from the US to lay out sprinting patterns for Pacquiao over different distances in preparing for the Tim Bradley fight in Las Vegas on June 9.