Very recently, the boxing world mounded when Hall of Fame referee Mills Lane passed away at the age of 85-years-old.
On Monday, news broke that another Hall of Fame referee, Steve Smoger, passed away at the age of 72. Smoger was battling an undisclosed illness.
Smoger started in boxing in the early 1970s as a judge and referee for the Police Athletic League.
In 1984 he began his career as a professional referee there and two years later he officiated his first world title go, an IBF flyweight bout, in South Korea.
In 2015, Smoger received boxing’s biggest honor when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Smoger is also a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame, Philadelphia Spots Hall of Fame and Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame.
Smoger, one of the most respected referees in the sport, has officiated nearly 200 title fights. He was the third man for Canizales vs. Seabrooks, McCallum vs. Toney I, Holmes vs. Mercer, Jones Jr. vs. Hopkins I, Pazienza vs. Duran II, Micky Ward vs. Augustus, Hopkins vs. Trinidad, Forrest vs. Mosley I, Pavlik vs. Taylor I, Andre Ward vs. Froch, Andre Ward vs. Dawson and Garcia vs. Judah – and many other notable fights.