IBF appoints veteran ring official as referee for Nontshinga fight

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Veteran American boxing referee Tony Weeks will serve as the third man in the ring when Regie Suganob meets Sivenathi Nontshinga in an IBF junior flyweight title eliminator on Saturday at the Bohol Wisdom School in Tagbilaran City, Philippines.

The winner will earn the mandatory challenger spot for the IBF world junior flyweight championship and a shot at reigning world champion Thanongsak Simsri of Thailand.

Nontshinga and his team, including trainers Bernie Pailman and Colin Nathan, arrived on Bohol island on Sunday, giving the South African camp a full week to acclimatise before fight night.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, 70-year-old Weeks has been a referee for three decades.

Weeks has earned his place among the most respected referees through his composure, courage, fairness, discipline and remarkable command of the ring.

It has been reported that it will be his first assignment in the Philippines in nearly 14 years.

The last time the renowned referee officiated a fight in the country was on October 20, 2012.

He handled the vacant WBO bantamweight title fight between AJ Banal and Pungluang Sor Singyu at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Weeks stopped the fight at 1:45 of the ninth round after Sor Singyu dropped Banal. The Filipino rose from the canvas but was visibly dazed.

Sor Singyu went on to capture the vacant world title.

Now, the highly respected Las Vegas-based referee returns to Philippine soil for another significant world-title pathway fight, this time in Bohol.

Weeks started his career as a referee in the 1990s and has officiated over 50 world title fights in 15 different countries.

He was the third man in the ring for many of Manny Pacquiao’s fights, including his bouts against Oscar de la Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Timothy Bradley.

Other high-profile fights he has officiated include the classic Jose Luis Castillo versus Diego Corrales match, the rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr, and the Wladimir Klitschko versus Tyson Fury encounter.