By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart
I cannot remember the first time that I became aware of Kenny Bayless, but I do know one thing. It was memorable.
The way in which his flamboyance and especially his facial features dominated my viewing of the fight I was watching was quite something. It was true showmanship and quite the opposite of having a referee remain anonymous in a fight. He was far from anonymous, but that made his presence all the more interesting.
Referees are in every sport and if they do something wrong, they hit the headlines. Howard Foster, an A star referee, was in charge of Carl Froch/ George Groves I. He was the guy who stepped into the ring to declare Groves unable to continue and Froch the controversial winner. To this day, this is used as an example of either the right thing to do or the wrong thing being done.
People debate and rage about it constantly. It led to Froch /Groves II at Wembley Stadium, which was an unbelievable spectacle, so Foster can legitimately claim that even if he was wrong, it was not all bad.
But Bayless was the man who, if you turned the sound down, could often commentate on the fight, just from what his face was doing! It is so unlike what we expect of referees in the UK. I must be honest and say that initially I thought he was refereeing some kind of celebrity event. But when you look at what he has refereed, he aint no joke.
Now resident in Nevada, and in his 70s, Bayless has even entered boxing folklore with his catch phrase – What I say, you must obey. Given just before the opening bell, it is projected across the entire auditorium as he will be on the microphone, in the center of the ring, with all the attention on him when he says it.
Bayless came into boxing through a curious route. Growing up in Berkely, California, he quickly became an Ali fan and followed the sport. His first job as a teacher was in Las Vegas, partly I believe, so that he could be close to the sport he loved. I wonder if the Clark County School District knew what they were getting in the early seventies.
And so, his route to the center of the ring did not include putting on gloves and fighting for the opportunity. In Vegas, Bayless found himself helping glove man, Johnny Lehman, and it was Lehman, who was also a boxing inspector for the Nevada Athletic Commission who suggested that Bayless try refereeing. Through knowing Lehman Bayless got closer to the action by assisting him in fights. It led to an introduction to a Nevada boxing judge, Jerry Roth who took Bayless under his wing, eventually suggesting to him that he should consider refereeing.
In 1982, as an amateur, he settled into the center of the ring, with help and guidance from a former Nevada referee, Richard Steele and also volunteered with the Golden Gloves program as an amateur judge. Three years later, the Nevada Athletic Commission hired him as an Inspector. Lehman had retired from the commission and suggested Bayless as his replacement. He got the job and now worked corners and kept up volunteering for amateur contests, hoping to become a professional referee at some stage. Eventually he managed to rack up 12 years as a Golden Gloves referee as well as being employed by the Commission. But Bayless wanted to be employed professionally in the center of that square circle and not by its side and then in 1991, he made it.
In 1994 he was officiating his very first world title fight! Now I cannot for the life of me remember what title fight he was in charge of when I saw him at first, but of more than 100 title fights he has been separating some of the best.
It has included in 2004, Bernard Hopkins v Oscar De La Hoya. In 2006, it was Manny Pacquiao v Erik Morales II. But the pick has to be the 2007 De La Hoya/ Mayweather fight!
Pacquiao seems to have been a common name on his resume which saw him officiate when Pacquiao fought Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto (2009) and then in 2011 against Shane Mosely. It was then, according to Bayless, he made his biggest mistake as he admitted to a reporter, from Boxing News, years later. “I’m just as human as anyone. The biggest blunder I’ve made was when Manny Pacquiao was fighting Shane Mosley and I was a bit out of position and got a little complacent and ruled a Pacquiao knockdown when it was more of a push. I didn’t get a good view and it was a mistake. I felt it necessary to apologise to Pacquiao afterwards, so I did. It happens.”
He continued to referee Pacquiao fights and in 2015, got the ultimate fight when he was between Pacquaio again and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Two years before he refereed Mayweather/ Canelo! He also can lay claim to the first Canelo/ GGG fight, Usyk/Briedis fight and the second Tyson Fury/Deontay Wilder contest.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame and by 2024, he and – I was unaware of this – his twin brother Kermit who is a judge were inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame!
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