Herb Santos
Name: Herb Santos
Birth Name: Herbert Joseph Santos
Hometown: Reno, Nevada, USA
Birthplace: Plainville, Connecticut, USA
Died: 2023-09-05 (Age:92)
Judge: Record
Supervisor: Record
- 2024 Recipient Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) Circle of Honor Award
- 2020 Guinness World Record Holder-
Oldest Judge in a World Championship fight: Julio Cesar Martinez v. Jay Harris
WBC World Flyweight Championship
- 2018 Class National Boxing Hall of Fame
- 2016 Class Plainville Sports Hall of Fame
- 2016 Recipient Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame President's Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2012 Recipient of the Nevada Justice Association (NJA) Lifetime Achievement Award
- Professional Boxing Judge: 1978-2023.
- Commissioner, Nevada State Athletic Commission: 1985-1988 (Chairman: 1987-1988).
- Served as a supervisor for the World Boxing Council (WBC).
- Judged 20 World Championship Title Fights.
- Judged 60 plus overall title fights.
- Most notable fight:
- Marvelous Marvin Hagler v. Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, Undisputed World Middleweight Championship (WBC, IBF, WBA), April 15, 1985, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Judged three World Heavyweight Championship fights:
- Evander Holyfield v. Francois Botha, WBF World Heavyweight Championship, April 10, 2010, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Pinklon Thomas v. Mike Weaver, WBC World Heavyweight Championship, June 15, 1985, Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Larry Holmes v. Tim Witherspoon, WBC World Heavyweight Championship, May 18, 1983, Dunes Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Other significant and notable fights judged:
- Omar Figueroa v. Abner Cotto, WBC Silver World Lightweight Championship, NABA Lightweight Championship, April 20, 2013, The Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas;
- Cornelius Bundrage v. Ishe Smith, IBF World Light Middleweight Championship, February 23, 2013, Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan;
- Alberto Garza v. Robinson Castellanos, WBC Silver World Featherweight Championship, April 2, 2011, Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico;
- Chris John v. Rocky Juarez, WBA Super World Featherweight Championship, September 19, 2009, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada;
- Wilfredo Gomez v. Juan Antonio Lopez, WBC World Super Bantamweight Championship, June 11, 1982, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada;
- "Sugar" Ray Leonard v. Bruce Finch, Undisputed World Welterweight Championship (WBC, WBA), February 15, 1982, Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada.
- Married to Jeannette Santos, three sons, ten grandchildren.
Biography
Herb Santos was an attorney and professional boxing judge from Reno, Nevada. He was a standout on the Plainville High School Basketball team which reached the Connecticut State Tournament in 1950. After high school, he honorably served in the United States Navy, obtaining the rank of Petty Officer, 2nd Class. After serving his commitment, he qualified for the G.I. Bill. He attended Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts and earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. While at Suffolk University, he was a varsity letterman on the Suffolk University Basketball Team.
Herb then attended Suffolk University, School of Law, and earned a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) and LLB. After passing the Massachusetts State Bar, he chose to continue to serve his country and enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF). After completing officer's school at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, he served as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) at Stead Air Force Base in Reno, Nevada and obtained the rank of Captain.
He married his sweetheart Jeannette in 1962 and they had three children: Herb Jr., Joel and Cory. After honorably completing his three-year term in the USAF, Herb passed the Nevada State Bar Exam and was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1964. He then served as a Deputy Reno City Attorney. After two years with the city, he then served as a Deputy District Attorney for the Washoe County District Attorney's Office. He attended Prosecutors School at the prestigious Northwestern University, School of Law, in Chicago, Illinois. As a Deputy District Attorney (D.A.), he prosecuted felony, gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor cases as one of the infamous "Raggio Raiders" which was a group of prosecutors under D.A. Bill Raggio who fought crime in Reno.
After two years as a Deputy D.A., Herb went into private practice. Practicing primarily in Criminal Defense, Civil Law, Immigration, Family Law, Personal Injury, Probate and Wills, Herb represented clients at the district court level up to the Nevada Supreme Court. He also represented clients in the United States Federal Court. He had several reported Nevada Supreme Court decisions.
He received numerous awards over his lifetime such as: In 2012, he was selected by the Nevada Justice Association (NJA) as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2016, he was awarded President's Award for lifetime achievement by the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. Also in 2016, he was inducted into the Plainville Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2018 and in 2020 became a Guinness World Record holder as the oldest judge in a World Championship Bout.
Herb began his career as an amateur boxing judge in the mid-1970's. He eventually began working professional boxing matches as a timekeeper and by keeping count of the knockdowns for the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
Herb was thrilled when he was eventually granted a professional boxing judges license by the NSAC.
Herb judged over 60 title fights in his career, including twenty world title fights. The most notable fight which he was honored to judge was the Marvelous Marvin Hagler v. Thomas "Hitman" Hearns fight in 1985.
From 1985-1988, he served as a commissioner on the NSAC. He was appointed by then Governor Richard Bryan. He was elected Chairman of the commission in the fall of 1987 and served as chairman until the fall of 1988. While a commissioner, he strongly advocated for AIDs and Hepatitis awareness and was instrumental in the 1988 implementation of testing of boxers for AIDs and Hepatitis. He also advocated for the creation of other safety measures to further protect boxers in and out of the ring such as passports, usage of computer for tracking of boxers, attached thumb gloves, weigh-ins the day before the fight and wearing of gloves by the referee and cornermen. Herb, along with the other commissioners, pushed through the creation of a new rule book. He returned to judging in 1989. He has also served as a supervisor of World Championship bouts for the (WBC).
Herb and Jan had three sons, all of whom are practicing attorneys in Nevada. His daughter-in-law Theresa (married to his youngest son Cory) is also an attorney in Nevada. His oldest son Herb, Jr., worked as an inspector for the NSAC in the late 1980s. His middle son Joel is an amateur official for USA Boxing and officiates at amateur shows in northern Nevada. His youngest son, Cory (a former amateur Nevada State Boxing Champion and college boxer for the University of Nevada, Reno), is also a professional boxing judge and former amateur boxing judge for USA Boxing. Herb's grandson was also a NCBA College boxer for the University of Nevada, Reno and was the 2015 NCBA National Champion.
https://boston.suffolk.edu/magazine/116.php