Tony Perez is considered one of the great boxing referees of all time…..as his career began in 1968. He was the third man in the ring for Frazier VS Ellis….Ali vs Frazier….Ali vs Wepner….Ali vs Quarry….Mancini vs Arguello and so many more title fights…..like the one between Ray Martin vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi title fight after which this interview seen herewith took place. Tony was honored with the acclaimed Jose Torres Renaissance Man Award for 2013.January 28, 1974 (Madison Square Garden)
In the 1974 fight between Joe Frazier vs. Muhmmad Ali II…..referee Tony Perez was to be quoted as saying about the fight….’I consider it a bad performance by myself as a Referee. The holding, clinching
and dirty tactics used by Mr. Ali were obviously intentional fouls. I wanted to use my authority as the ‘Third Man in the Ring’, but I was under pressure from the higher ups to let it go….but it was getting ridiculous….as Muhammad was going overboard with those very dirty holds behind Joe Frazier’s neck. Joe looked at me at least 15-times, and said ‘C’mon Tony do something.”
