By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

World championship referee Bill Clancy talks to Fightnews.com® about working as the third man in the ring for 41 years.

We’re there any members of your family in North Carolina who were boxers? When did you become interested in boxing and start your career as a referee?

My grandfather on my mother’s side of the family was a heavyweight boxer in the Merchant Marines back in the 1930s. My dad’s father boxed and was also a New York City policeman back in the late 30’s early 40s. I was born and raised 90 miles north of New York City in Kingston, New York and because of my grandfather’s involvement in boxing, I was always surrounded with talk of the fight game and then later as a young teenager, I really developed an interest in the sport and pursued it passionately ever since.

When did you referee your first world title and who were the boxers and for what championship? Your memories of that fight?

It was November 20, 1996 for the World Boxing Federation World Super Light (vacant) Title in Raleigh, North Carolina. Theon Holland vs Khalil Shakeel. The fight went the full 12 round distance and it was a superb boxing match between two slick boxers with Shakeel winning a unanimous decision. It was all action with two fast moving 139-pound true boxers. They made me work very hard to be remain in position as they were very slick with their footwork and cutting fast angles. It was a great fight!

How many world title fights have you worked? What countries have you worked? Which countries were your favorites?

I have been fortunate to have been the referee for 34 World Title fights. I have refereed and judged in the United States of course and Canada, Mexico, Germany, England, Poland, Thailand, South Africa, Japan, Turks and Caicos, and Grand Cayman. There are very unique things with every country I have been to but I must say that I loved every one of them as each experience I had was a positive one from the friendly people to the food to the sheer beauty of the land and seas!

The boxing world recently lost Hall of Fame referees Mills Lane and Steve Smoger. Did you know them and did they influence your career? Your memories of Mills and Steve?

I was friends with both Mills and Steve. I actually attended two referee seminars that Mills taught and he gave me his chamber office number at the courthouse in Nevada where he was a judge(no cell phones existed at this time 1989ish?). I would call and he would answer if he was in or his secretary would take a message and he always called me back and he would answer all my rookie referee questions and we would eventually have pretty in depth conversations on specific referee scenarios and the proper mechanics involved and proper decisions to be made as a referee as our friendship continued over the years. I asked permission to copy some of his traits and movements in the ring and he would laugh and say “sure kid”!

I got to know Steve through my association with the IBF. I met him in the early 90’s at one of their conventions and we hit it off pretty well. We would always see each at boxing conventions and eventually we got to work together refereeing with another legendary referee, Frank Cappuccino, in Cherokee, North Carolina at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. I also got to referee with Steve in South Carolina and then we worked together in Kansas, November 17, 2018, as I was refereeing Big Baby Jarrell Miller versus Bogdan Dinu for the NABF Heavyweight Title and Steve was a judge for the fight.

Who has been your most important influence in boxing? Please give details?

Mills Lane , Arthur Mercante Sr. and Jack Reiss. Mills and Arthur mentored me early in my refereeing career as I met them both at boxing conventions held by the WBC and NABF. I felt as if I pestered them as I was a fan of their refereeing styles and ring presence but they both assured me that I wasn’t bothering them and they recognized that I was truly focused on becoming the best referee that I could be. They both shared their work phone numbers with me and we talked/discussed referee scenarios as they arose on televised boxing events when there was perceived controversy, etc., and we would talk about the better way it could have been handled. This relationship lasted many years between us and as they both went on to bigger and better things in their lives, I met my fellow referee Jack Reiss from California and we developed a professional relationship that eventually grew to a personal friendship. Jack has a brilliant mind as a teacher stemming from his many years with the Los Angeles Fire Department as a fire fighter and EMT. He and I speak often on the phone and critique each other on our ring performance on televised events we work and ask each other, was there anything better we could have done on a call we made or a ring mechanic we performed during a knockdown, or a situational decision we made in the fight. We are our own worst critic as we strive to be the best referee that he and I can be for the fighters we are entrusted to protect in the ring.

(Did you work for the IBF, WBC, WBA, WBO and attend their conventions? Did you conduct seminars at any conventions?

I have been a member of the WBC, NABF and the IBF for many years since 1994. I have attended their conventions for many years all over the world and the United States. I attended a WBO convention in Florida many years ago but decided to focus my time, money and energy into the WBC and NABF as most of my referee and judge friends were members of these organizations and to attend conventions, it’s very expensive. I have helped conduct referee seminars and sat on panels of referees at these conventions and shared my professional experiences and helped younger officials to become better.

You worked all the major fight cities around the world except Las Vegas. Any regrets? What are your favourite fight cities?

Great question Ray! I have accomplished most of my “referee bucket list” items with the exception of, refereeing in Las Vegas, refereeing boxing in Madison Square Garden and refereeing in Australia! Of course, it’s a bit disappointing not accomplishing a Las Vegas referee assignment but, I can live with it. I did get to referee kickboxing at Madison Square Garden so I’ll count that as a 50% accomplishment. Australia has always intrigued me as a paradise that I would love to visit. I had a coworker that spent his 30 days of R&R, as a soldier fighting in Viet Nam, in Australia and he told me that he almost went AWOL(absent without leave) because he fell in love with your country. I had another coworker who dreamed of going to Australia for vacation and when he did, he fell in love with your country and came back to America and sold everything he owned, quit a great job, and moved to Australia and never looked back. He’s been there for over 36 years and will never leave. My fingers are crossed that this bucket list item will be fulfilled in the near future. My favorite fight cities are, Las Vegas, New York City, Los Angeles, Memphis, London and Lodz, Poland.

You were the Third Man in the Ring for the Danny Green vs Markus Beyer in 2003 WBC super middleweight world title bout that ended in controversy. What are your memories of that fight?

This was a tremendous fight and one that I learned a very important lesson from. I got emotionally involved in this fight and I never had that happen to me prior or since. It was a very tense atmosphere surrounding the fight as Danny was undefeated at 16-0 with all of his wins by KO or TKO going against a very seasoned pro in Markus who was 27-1 with many 12 round world title fights under his belt and the fight was being held in Germany so Green and company were in very hostile territory and they were afraid of a biased officiating crew cheating them out of a potential victory if Danny didn’t KO Markus. Jeff Fenech, Danny’s trainer, was assured by the WBC that neutral officials were assigned and that Bill Clancy would be very fair to the combatants as the referee. Fast forward to the fight and as illustrated above, Danny was cruising to a certain victory if he just continued his fight strategy as he was way ahead on points on the scorecards and had completed the required four rounds to go to the scorecards if the fight ended due to the cut caused by an accidental headbutt, being stopped as a result of that cut being worsened by legal punches. What happened next is, Markus came out in the 5th round as a different fighter than the previous 4 rounds and really starts taking the fight to Danny and is winning the 5th round. I believe, to this very day, that Danny panicked that he had given a thrashing to Markus for 4 rounds and the tide is turning against him in the 5th and in frustration, he dropped his hands and lunged headfirst into the already badly cut eyebrow of Markus and caused the cut to worsen(elongate and deepened) to the point Markus would in no way be able to continue to fight. I was in shock as I immediately knew, without needing a doctor’s opinion, that the fight was over due to this intentional foul. In a rush to reprimand Danny for his egregious foul, I called time, sent Markus to the corner and took Danny to center of the ring to deduct two points for the intentional foul. As I began to instruct the judges to take the points, I immediately realize my mistake in taking the points versus disqualifying Danny for the intentional foul causing the fight to end immediately. Jeff is now thinking we will be going to scorecards due to my mistake. It’s a very emotionally charged atmosphere at this point and as I try to rectify and correct my mistake, we have a language barrier. Danny, Jeff and I speak English. My WBC fight supervisors speak no English, they speak Spanish and Italian. I finally, after several minutes, am able to get the WBC rule book and show everyone the rule requiring the disqualification versus going to the scorecards. My apology for my referee ruling, of a two-point deduction versus the correct rule being applied to this instance, which was MY ERROR, but not the final/official and correct ruling, was NOT well received by Danny, Jeff or the Australian fans that traveled to Germany to watch their hero. I was a hated man I’m sure for a very long time in Australia but, in my heart, and, in fact, I rendered the correct ruling and the right person won the fight.

What fight that you refereed stands out in your memory?

The Danny Green versus Markus Beyer fight and the fight between Mike Tyson versus Clifford Etienne that ended up being Mike’s 50th and final victory of his career and his 6th fastest KO of his career.

During the 1990s former heavyweight champion James “Bonecrusher” Smith was your Commissioner in North Carolina. What are you memories working with Bonecrusher?

He was a very smart businessman and at the time, the only heavyweight world champion to possess a college degree. He was a man who really knew the sport and was the right man to run boxing for the state of North Carolina. We had a great working relationship and a personal friendship that is alive and well to this very day.

You have now retired as a referee and have become the Commissioner of Virginia. Can you give details?

I interviewed for the Executive Director position for the NC Boxing and Combat Sports Commission on July 1, 2022 but to this day they are still operating with a part time interim Executive Director and I have no idea when they will hire a permanent Executive Director. In the meantime, I was approached about possibly applying for the position of Regulatory Operations Administrator for the Virginia Professional Boxing, MMA and Wrestling commission. After much thought and knowing these jobs are few and far between, I took a chance and applied. The interview went very well, as did my interview for the North Carolina position, but I was offered the position in Virginia and I accepted. I refereed my final boxing match after a wonderful 41-year career on February 18, 2023 in Hanover, Maryland at Casino Live in front of a sold-out event, it was an emotional goodbye. I have been on the job since March 10, 2023 here in Richmond, Virginia and I am very excited about this new chapter in my combat sports career.

Is there any comments Bill you would like to make to the readers of Fightnews.com®?

I want to thank my beautiful wife and best friend/soul mate, Teresa, for her unwavering support of my 41-year refereeing career. She’s my best half and there is no way I could have dedicated as much of my life to boxing without her support and love, thank you baby!