Joe Cortez was born on October 13,1945 and is an American former boxing referee who has officiated in many important world title bouts.
12 Facts About Joe Cortez
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Joe Cortez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
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Joe Cortez had a successful amateur boxing career, winning various Golden Gloves tournaments from 1960 to 1962.
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Joe Cortez had a record of ten wins and one defeat as a professional boxer, and the loss was to Georgie Foster from Ohio.
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Joe Cortez retired from boxing after only eleven professional fights.
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Joe Cortez has refereed over 170 world title bouts, among which figure the first Oscar De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez meeting, Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe's first title fight and the match that saw 45-year-old George Foreman become the oldest World Heavyweight Champion in history.
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Joe Cortez appears in the film Rocky Balboa as the referee in the exhibition bout between Balboa and the fictional champion Mason "The Line" Dixon played by the professional boxer Antonio Tarver, as well as in I Spy with Eddie Murphy and in Play It To The Bone with Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson.
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Joe Cortez called it "one of the most outstanding, skillful and exciting" championship fights that he refereed in his career.
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Joe Cortez was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in November 1998 and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
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Joe Cortez retired from refereeing in September 2012 after Canelo Alvarez vs Josesito Lopez fight, and is currently a boxing analyst for ESPN Sports.
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In 2017, Joe Cortez assisted Conor McGregor with his transition to boxing for his super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
12.
Joe Cortez was acting as the referee during Conor's sparring sessions while training for the bout.