Who is the best British ref?

[dondada]

Surprised Howard Foster got a single mention, far too nervous (NOT cautious) and regularly jumps in too quickly. Each to their own i suppose !

And this goes for josh who thinks Howard got the Elcock call wrong too...

It isn't the duty of the ref to ensure that fans get the contest they want. They have to see that things go fairly and protect the fighters. In the case of McDermott, what would you have said had Wayne stuck the nut on that already horrendous cut again or smashed it open with a hook? He certainly had plenty of time to do so and Darren might very well have been out for months on end unable to do any sparring and left with a career in which he was always susceptible to injury. And it's also down to the doctor.

Like you say, each to his own...I've seen them all, in the flesh, scores of times. Loads of them are fantastic - IJL is brilliant as is Richie Davies. I was ringside for Thompson-Rothmann and EVERYONE was pleading with Richie to stop it. He was about to and BANG...he was the only one in that arena (other than Carl himself) who would have given him that extra few seconds. Great call.

[Old bones Ian]

I think its rare that any of us come on here and crititise a British ref for his handling of a fight, only really on how they score it sometimes. So this shows that we have good quality referees right from 4 round fights up to championship level.

[forcefraser]

Gotta be Mickey Vann.

Seen him throw the towel back out of the ring on occassions (Earl v Katsidis) if he thinks the bloke still has a chance.

Solid ref.

[Twinkle Toes]

We have a good array of ref's, so it's hard to pick a best.

If we are taking weakest, then for me it is O'Conner, and by a long way. Not a fan of Vann either, I don't like his style of looking to give every advantage to the home fighter.

[stujones]

Marcus McDonnell makes himself "invinciable" which is a good thing - you hardly notice he is there. Compare him to Smoger, or Richard Steele.

[WildWaylon]

I think the concensus of opinion by and large is that we do have good refs. That has to be very reassuring to British fighters and anyone fighting British fighters. To know you will be treated fairly, that the ref is unbiased, and in the event of injury or getting a heavy hammering the ref will protect your interests. The responsiblity of being a ref is considerable and IMO they earn their money and deserve every penney. Ian John Lewis seems to be a popular choice and I have to agree with those who gave him a mention. Mickey Vann I believe retires this year, still super fit for a man in his sixties who for me has done an excellent job through the years. Thanks for your replies which have been fair and honest as are the men we are discussing.

[Dioufy]

Mickey Vann is my favourite but Ian John Lewis is the best we have at the moment. McDonnell is top notch as well.

[ManchesterMexican]

Ashley Mc Doodle Pants

[WildWaylon]

[quote="quote="lukesfc"]Ashley Mc Doodle Pants[/quote]
[/quote] Who are you ManchesterMexican"? Michael Gomez.

[stujones]

Although they are not perfect... I thought Parris' performance in the Choi vs Mathews bout was as bad as any US bout recently (with the exception of the Interim WBC Super Feather title fight at the weekend).

[telboy66]

Ian John Lewis every time

[Lightsoot]

Howard Foster is the finest British referee by some distance, in my opinion. Doesn't stand any messing, communicates well, is capable of handling the big heavyweights as well as the smaller men and isn't obsessed with fame, unlike some officials. I completely disagree with one of the previous posters who suggested that Foster was tentative - he's anything but. He takes each fight as he sees it, doesn't favour reputations and calls it exactly as he sees it.

The support of Ian John-Lewis is baffling to me. He's a decent referee, granted, but I think he's far too quick to stop fights when the favourite has his opponent under pressure, although since the turn of the year John-Lewis seems less trigger happy. As a scoring judge or referee, John-Lewis has left many ringsiders bemused in small shows with some of his scorecards.

One referee who hasn't been mentioned, who I think has come on leaps and bounds, is Scotland's Victor Loughlin. Like Foster, he's the future of British referees when the likes of Vann, Parris, O'Connor and John Keane have retired.