Mills not second guessing

      Years ago, Mills Lane might have been forced to pick a winner.
      But the practice of having referees double as judges has been abolished in world championship fights.
      So these days, Lane does his judging in a Reno courtroom as a District Court judge. When he steps in as the third man in the ring, as he did for Saturday night's World Boxing Council welterweight championship fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Pernell Whitaker, Lane's duties are limited to breaking clenches and ensuring a clean fight.
      And that's just fine with him.
      "The referee should not score" the fight, Lane said after De La Hoya won a controversial unanimous decision to claim Whitaker's championship at the Thomas & Mack Center. "If you do your job, you should know who's ahead. Your focus is different (when a referee has to judge)."
      Had he been forced to cast a vote, though, which way would Lane have gone?
      "The judges said De La Hoya won," Lane said. "I never disagree with the judges. It's not my job to judge, but I thought De La Hoya seemed to me to be ahead."
      All three judges had De La Hoya winning comfortably, although most at ringside thought Whitaker either won or lost by a slight margin.
      The fight was wrought with head butts, pushing and an inordinate amount of clenching.
      In fact, in the seventh round, both fighters tackled each other to the canvas.
      "There was a lot of grabbing and (pushing) around," Lane said, "but it was OK."
      Lane has refereed 94 championship fights in 30 years, including ones involving Larry Holmes, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard.
      When asked to rank where De La Hoya-Whitaker stood among other megafights he has officiated, Lane said: "It was a great fight for the crowd. I've seen better ones, but it was a very good, workmanlike technical fight."
      -- SEEING STARS -- As usual, the crowd was loaded with several television, film and sports stars.
      Among the celebrities in attendance were Academy Award-winner Cuba Gooding Jr., and fellow actors Dean Cain, Don Johnson, Bruce Willis and Kirstie Alley. Several sports stars also filled the crowd, including Randall Cunningham and boxers Thomas Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Mike Tyson and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
      -- TRIPLEHEADER -- Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner, who is known to wear many hats, had a busy Saturday.
      It started at 9:30 a.m., when Ratner, a Western Athletic Conference football official, refereed the UNLV football team's intrasquad scrimmage at Rebel Park.
      After hanging up his striped uniform, Ratner put on a tie and went to the Tropicana to oversee an afternoon fight card.
      After watching Raul Marquez stop Anthony Stephens to win the vacant International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title, Ratner drove up the road to the Thomas & Mack, where he supervised the De La Hoya-Whitaker fight card.
      -- FIGHT REPLAY -- Those who didn't order the pay-per-view telecast Saturday night will have a chance to witness De La Hoya's controversial victory later this week.
      HBO will show a replay of the fight Saturday at 10:30 p.m.