Chavez Wants American Judge Taken Off Panel

SAN ANTONIO — In a threat his own representative said was mostly theater, Julio Cesar Chavez said here Wednesday that he might pull out of Friday’s fight against Pernell Whitaker unless an American judge is removed from the three-judge panel.

The Texas Athletic Commission, which has jurisdiction here, has chosen Jack Woodruff of Dallas and neutral-country judges Mickey Vann of England and Franz Marti of Switzerland.

The referee is American Joe Cortez, but Chavez had no objection to him.

Chavez, pointing to scoring he considered partial to American Meldrick Taylor in their 1990 fight that Chavez almost lost, said he did not trust any American judge’s scoring when he fights an American fighter.

Chavez asked promoter Don King to work with commission representatives and World Boxing Council President Jose Suliaman to negotiate a settlement. But Rick Valdes, representing the commission, said that the commission was not going to change anything.