ARLINGTON, Texas – Mark Calo-oy, a veteran referee from Texas, has been picked to handle the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, according to a copy of the official’s assignments obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
He and Paul won’t need to be introduced. Calo-oy, 64, refereed Paul’s bout against Nate Diaz, a mixed martial arts fan favorite, Aug. 5, 2023 in Dallas.
Paul, the YouTuber-turned boxer, won the highly anticipated, 10-round fight by unanimous decision.
The heavyweight fight between Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, is set to be held Friday at AT&T Stadium and televised by Netflix. And Calo-oy is familiar with big fights in front of large crowds in Texas.
He refereed the world title bout between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders in 2021 at AT&T Stadium in front of a crowd of 73,126. Alvarez won when Saunders failed to come out for the ninth round in front of the largest crowd for an indoor boxing event in the United States.
Damon Zavala, Vice President of the Association of Ringside Physicians, said a referee would play an important role because of Tyson’s age. He made the remarks before USA TODAY learned the referee would be Calo-oy.
‘There are differences in ref style and how they take command of a situation in the ring and who’s in charge,’ Zavala, who is trained in internal medicine, told USA TODAY Sports in late October. ‘Some guys that might get caught up in the moment and just be a step too late in stopping the action.’
Calo-oy’s history suggests he is not afraid to stop a fight. Of the 48 bouts he has refereed this year, he has stopped 11 of them, according to BoxRec, the official registry for boxing.
During a career that started in 2003, Calo-oy refereed 445 bouts, according to BoxRec. More than 20 of them were world title fights.
Tyson, the former world heavyweight champion, has not fought in a sanctioned pro bout since 2005. In 2020, Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition, and they fought to a split draw as scored by celebrity judges.
The judges for the Tyson-Paul fight are David Iacobucci of Dallas, Laurence Cole of Dallas and Jesse Reyes of Plano.