Longtime ref Cortez ends career in style

In his five decades as a referee, Joe Cortez had seen plenty of boxers hang around too long. He wasn't about to have that happen to himself.

Cortez, 68, officiated his final fight Sept. 15, and he went out in style. The man who refers to himself as "Fair but Firm" handled Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's defense of his WBC junior middleweight title flawlessly, stopping the beating Alvarez gave Josesito Lopez in the fifth round at the MGM Grand Garden.

"It was perfect; a world title fight, no controversy, easy to work," Cortez said. "When it was over and I raised (Alvarez's) hand, he grabbed my other hand and put his belt around my waist. That was a very touching gesture by him."

Cortez, a 2011 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said the time was right to move on.

"I've been thinking about it for over a year, ever since I was inducted," he said. "I wanted to go out at the top of my game, and I can leave the ring with no regrets."

While Cortez is finished with officiating, he's not leaving boxing. He will continue to do clinics for local youths and work with younger referees.

"I love dealing with the kids," Cortez said. "That will never go away. And I enjoy working with our other referees, and any help I can give them, I'm available."

He also would like to have a chance to serve on the Nevada Athletic Commission as a member of the five-person panel. Of course, that's up to Gov. Brian Sandoval. Coincidentally, Francisco Aguilar's term is up at the end of October. If Sandoval decides to not return Aguilar to the commission, perhaps Cortez would be a suitable replacement.

"I have no control over that," Cortez said. "If there were to be an opening and the governor were to consider me, I'd be honored."

Cortez is doing some politicking. Not for himself but for fellow referees Mills Lane and Richard Steele, who Cortez said belong with him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

"There's no question they belong," Cortez said. "I have spoken to the people there, and anything I can do to help Richard and Mills, I will do. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today."

■ SEPT. 15 NUMBERS - The NAC has released the official figures from the Sept. 15 boxing shows at the MGM and Thomas & Mack Center, and the numbers were good.

The Thomas & Mack show, which was promoted by Top Rank and featured Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez in the main event, sold 16,939 tickets producing a gate of $3,052,475. The MGM card, which was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions with Alvarez-Lopez as the main event, sold 12,860 tickets and had a gate of $1,618,150.

Top Rank announced a sellout crowd of 19,186, and Golden Boy proclaimed a sellout of 14,200. The reason for the discrepancies in the numbers from the promoters and the commission is the promoters included complimentary tickets along with media and other credentialed individuals in their attendance figures. Top Rank had 751 comps out, and Golden Boy distributed 1,659 comps.

Showtime, which televised the MGM card, said it attracted 1.04 million viewers, a record for boxing since it began tracking viewership in 2007. HBO said Friday its pay-per-view buys for Chavez-Martinez were approximately 475,000, generating $24 million in sales.

■ NO REMATCH SOON - Any rematch between Chavez and Martinez will have to wait. Chavez, whose positive drug test for marijuana was confirmed Friday by the NAC, faces a disciplinary hearing and a likely lengthy suspension that might keep him out of the ring until late 2013.

Martinez is having surgery Wednesday in Spain to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and probably will be out of action until May.

■ PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ TICKETS - Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for the fourth installment of the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez rivalry, set for Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Tickets, priced at $200, $400, $600, $900 and $1,200, will be available at the MGM Grand box office and Ticketmaster locations as well as at Ticketmaster.com.

HBO Pay Per View will televise the fight.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.