Season 2: #45 Mickey Vann

Boxing Life Stories

Tris Dixon

Sports

5 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2020

⏱️ 178 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Former star referee Mickey Vann officiated around 1,500 fights, from preliminary bouts to some of the biggest world title contests in recent history. A former pro, Mickey was born into the circus – son of a knife throwing father – before finding fame as one of the top refs in the sport. He's officiated some of the best boxers of the last several generations and was the third man in the ring for Lennox Lewis-Frank Bruno, Michael Gomez-Carl Johanneson and Micky Ward-Shea Neary. He also officiated fights featuring Pernell Whitaker, Herol Graham, Kirkland Laing, Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and many more, refereeing in high profile fights around the world. Here, he talks about fixed fights, how he developed his unique movement, throwing people out of the ring, refusing to accept a towel that was thrown in and much more.

Transcript

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0:30.0	So I said well I can help you out so he said listen he said I think you had ulterior motive and he said they're sure
0:42.4	are referees. Why don't you try and become a referee?
0:47.0	Then dad would go back to his mark where he was 25 foot away and then he put a blindfold on and he had, and you couldn't see through it and he had, and you couldn't see through it and he had six knives and two hatches and he'd throw the six knives you say you're ready and
1:11.0	bomb down the side there would go and then he'd be out, here's, here it comes and then the hatchet would come.
1:18.0	I, if I remember rightly, didn't have a microphone on.
1:23.6	No, I didn't, because we weren't allowed to wear them.
1:26.6	So there were no microphones, so I thought I can get away with what I want.
1:32.0	And I thought, if a referee ever swore at me and said you know
1:38.5	don't you fucking do this who'll be out. I think yeah. I will be in all I'm going to change my tactics and I just said that to it. He never did it again
1:58.0	And I knew that it was a big fight for him. I knew he still has something in the tank.
2:02.0	I let it go on so I knew where I could tell I could
2:08.5	tell whether he wanted to go on don't forget if you're taking punishment even though it's a big fight you think and
2:16.7	you're taking a bit of am and you can think to yourself oh shit I ain't got a lot of chance here and your body somehow tells you.
2:26.6	There's something there.
2:29.6	That's why I like referees to the thought.
2:33.0	Hello and welcome to boxing life stories with me Tristics.
	...

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