The Las Vegas boxing judge who scored the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez fight as a draw is stepping down. The veteran judge, C.J. Ross, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal she is taking an indefinite leave of absence from boxing following her controversial score.
Ross' decision to score the Mayweather as a draw, 114-114, resulted in Mayweather winning the bout by majority decision. The other judges, Craig Metcalf of Canada and Dave Moretti of Las Vegas, scored 117-111 and 116-112 in favor of Mayweather.
Ross, 64, sent an e-mail on Tuesday to Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) executive director Keith Kizer and informed him of her decision to take an indefinite leave of absence from boxing. Part of the e-mail, according to The Review-Journal, read: "I will be taking some time off from boxing but will keep in touch."
Kizer confirmed Ross' decision to, at least temporarily, step down.
"She feels bad the focus is on her, not Mayweather," Kizer told The Review-Journal. "We recognize and respect C.J.'s decision."
It's not the first time Ross' scoring came under fire. Ross scored Timothy Bradley as the winner in the 2012 fight against Manny Pacquiao, who many believed won the fight outright. Her scoring helped Bradley win by split decision.
Her future in boxing is uncertain. Ross, a veteran judge with 22 years of experience, would need to reapply for a judge's license at the end of the year when her license expires. She could choose not to reapply or, if she does, the NAC could decline to renew it.
The NAC received flak from Nevada governor Brian Sandoval, who appoints NAC members, for the negative publicity cast on the state after Ross' controversial score.
"I apologized to the governor for any embarrassment we may have caused the state," NAC chairman Bill Brady said. "He made me aware of his concerns. He wants things done right."
Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's managers, was more understanding.
"Things happen in the sport, and it could have been a lot worse than it was," Ellerbe said. "But we want to be positive about what happened Saturday."
