Boxing Hall of Fame inducts Cortez

There are the pictures and posters. The articles and autographs. The gloves. Even the blood-stained shirts.

Joe Cortez has a big house in Las Vegas. He needs it just for the memorabilia.

The 67-year-old boxing referee, who has worked more than 175 world championship fights, will receive his sport's highest honor today when he is inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y.

Cortez, the first Nevada referee to be enshrined, will be inducted with former champions Mike Tyson, Julio Caesar Chavez and Kostya Tszyu, trainer Nacho Beristain and movie actor/producer Sylvester Stallone of "Rocky" fame. Votes were cast by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.

"I guess it means I've been around a long time," Cortez said, looking around the garage he transformed into a gym many years ago, complete with a full-sized boxing ring and walls covered with photos and posters of fights he has worked over four decades. "But I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish. I may not have been able to get to the top as a fighter, but I managed to get there another way."

Cortez officiated at least one fight of all his fellow inductees. Yes, even Stallone. Cortez portrayed a referee in the 2006 movie "Rocky Balboa."

Cortez didn't hesitate when asked which fight stands out most among the thousands he's officiated.

"Julio (Caesar Chavez) was in probably the biggest fight I ever worked," he said. "It was his first fight with (Oscar) De La Hoya, in 1995. With Oscar beating Julio that night, it was like watching the passing of the torch."

Cortez's other favorite big fight was between Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley in 1989 in Atlantic City.

"People thought Duran was finished and Barkley was in his prime," Cortez said. "But Duran kept battling, and he pulled it out."

Duran won a 12-round split decision and the WBC middleweight title.

Cortez, a six-time Golden Gloves champion who had an 18-1 record as a professional, has a healthy respect for those who compete. But he also prides himself on providing a level canvas for fighters. His "Fair but Firm" nickname, which he has trademarked, is how he tries to conduct himself in the ring.

"The fighters deserve your best effort," said Cortez, who was first licensed to referee in New York in 1976 and moved to Las Vegas in 1992 to maximize his opportunities. "Not only do you owe it to the fighters, but to the fans and to the commission."

Cortez said he got his nickname from a TV interview.

"The guy interviewing me asked what it takes to be a good referee, and I said, 'You have to be firm, but you have to be fair, too.'

"After I did the interview, I started thinking about what I had said, and I said to myself, 'You know, that sounds good,' and I adopted it as my slogan."

Cortez, who was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007, has spent the last week in upstate New York with his wife, Sylvia, and daughters Cindy, Sandy and Christine.

It is especially meaningful to Cortez that Cindy will be in attendance today. In 1996, at age 29, she was involved in a car accident while driving to Las Vegas from Southern California, leaving her a quadriplegic.

"She's the real fighter," he said. "To have her there for this will make it extra special."

Since Cindy's accident, Cortez has helped raise money for spinal-cord research and does other charity work, especially with area youth. A former deputy constable for North Las Vegas, Cortez conducts boxing clinics at his home a couple of times a year to introduce kids to the sport.

"Boxing's given me all this," he said, waving his hand in his expansive living room. "To not give back would be wrong."

Cortez doesn't take lightly being the first referee from Nevada to be inducted out of several world-class referees.

"That is truly humbling," said Cortez, also the first Latino referee to gain induction. "I had great mentors when I started refereeing, and that's why I work with our great young referees here -- Kenny Bayless, Tony Weeks and Russell Mora, along with Robert Byrd, who is a Hall of Famer himself. We all work together to stay on top of our game."

Cortez knows age is catching up to him, and his work in the ring has drawn criticism by some fighters and boxing media in recent years. But he insists he's still refereeing at a high level and will know when it's time to retire.

"Being a referee requires a thick skin," Cortez said. "It takes years of experience, and you're going to get criticized. But I never take it personally. People are entitled to their opinions. But the fact is, I'm still working five or six world title fights a year. If I couldn't do the job, they'd use someone else.

"Have I thought about retirement? Sure. But I'll know when it's time to leave. When I go out, I want to go out on top."

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