. .

« UFC won’t have GSP to push around any more | Home | Three focal points in the aftermath of the UFC 12/14 Arco Arena (Fox 9) event »

By Zach Arnold | December 14, 2013

This is the type of story that has Southern California officials buzzing tonight — and a story that makes me angry. It is a story that justifies why I’ve spent so much time being concerned about the quality of regulation in the state of California.

On Friday night in Indio, California at Fantasy Springs resort & casino, Golden Boy held a Fox Sports 1 card that aired live. The show was hosted by Rich Marotta. Veteran athletic inspectors Brian Morris & Larry Ervin worked the event. The top two fights on the card featured Josesito Lopez vs. Mike Amaoutis and Francisco Vargas vs. Jerry Belmontes. Listed as a chief second on the Fox Sports telecast for fighter Francisco Vargas was the name Rodrigo Mosquera. Mosquera worked the corner alongside Mike Rodriguez and Guillermo Becerillo.

Rodrigo Mosquera has a (protected) Twitter account at @rmosquera1 where he calls himself a boxing expert from Los Angeles. He has one professional fight on his record.

Three weeks ago, Mosquera was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission. He was suspended, along with a fighter he was working with, for using illegally manipulated boxing gloves for an All Star Boxing show on September 20th in Montebello, California at Quiet Cannon. Both the fighter and Rodrigo Mosquera were given notices to appear at the December 16th (Monday) California State Athletic Commission hearing in Sacramento.

Despite being suspended by the commission, Mosquera worked the Golden Boy event in Fantasy Springs. Loophole? The suspension letter to Mosquera is regarding his manager’s license. He worked as a second for Francisco Vargas.

We know about the suspension of Rodrigo Mosquera because his suspension letter was included in a 156-page document dump put on the California State Athletic Commission web site on Friday.

When you take a look at all of the documentation included in the doc dump, one thing is clear: nobody involved looks good. It’s a terribly depressing read and an all-too common scenario that is playing out throughout shows in the state. As one prominent (and competent) athletic inspector put it:

“Of course, rookie inspectors and low staffing are the primary reasons the guy was able to walk in the ring wth altered gloves before the referee caught the [screw-up].”

Here’s the suspension letter to the fighter in question:

November 21, 2013 Re: License Suspension

Ricardo Rodriguez, Professional Boxer Fighter License Dear Mr. Rodriguez: This letter shall serve as notice that, pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 18842 (Attachment A) as well as Rule 318 and Rule 390 of the State Athletic Commission Professional Boxing Rules, your California Professional Boxer License is hereby temporarily suspended pending appearance before the Commission for violations of: Rule 318. Gloves (a) Gloves shall be examined by the commission representative and the referee. If padding is found to be misplaced or lumpy, or if gloves are found to be imperfect or clearly ill-fitting, they shall be changed before the contest starts. No breaking, skinning, roughing or twisting of gloves shall be permitted. Rule 390. Violations of Laws or Rules. Circumstances: On September 20, 2013, you attempted to enter the ring with gloves containing misplaced padding. The “Cleto Reyes” gloves that were purchased directly by you were found to have been potentially tampered with. These altered gloves could have significantly injured another fighter. You have been scheduled to appear at the follow Commission meeting regarding this issue: December 16, 2013.

Here’s the suspension letter to his manager, Rodrigo Mosquera.

November 21, 2013 Re: License Suspension

Rodrigo Mosquera Sr., Manager License Dear Mr. Mosquera Sr.: This letter shall serve as notice that, pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 18842 (Attachment A) as well as Rule 318 and Rule 390 of the State Athletic Commission Professional Boxing Rules, your California Manager License is hereby temporarily suspended pending appearance before the Commission for violations of: Rule 318. Gloves Rule 390. Violations of Laws or Rules. Circumstances: On September 20, 2013, as a licensed manager, you assisted with the wrapping and placement of Professional Boxer Ricardo Rodriguez’s gloves. These gloves were later found to contain misplaced padding. The “Cleto Reyes” gloves that were purchased directly by you were found to have been potentially tampered with. These altered gloves could have significantly injured another fighter. You have been scheduled to appear at the following Commission meeting regarding this issue: December 16, 2013.

Mosquera worked the corner of Francisco Vargas on the Golden Boy show Friday night in light of this suspension letter.

On page 81 of the CSAC document dump, there’s a report about the September 20th incident. There are several pages of pictures of the altered gloves. There are over 70 pages of information related to the incident, including interviews with all parties involved.

A few snippets from the summary of the investigation:

On September 20, 2013 at 8:35 PM, during the All Star Boxing Promotin’s second bout, Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Fernando Fuentes, Rodriguez’s gloves were found to have insufficient padding upon the inspection by Referee Lou Moret just prior to the beginning of the bout. Lead inspector Mark Relyea, who was ringside, was summonsed by Referee Lou Moret and requested to examine the gloves. He observed that the “Reyes” gloves had misplaced padding in the front end of both gloves. Relyea instructed Rodriguez to return to the locker room area to obtain a more suitable pair of gloves. The gloves were removed in the hallway by Chief Second Rodrigo Mosquera in the presence of inspector Robert Judge and Relyea. Relyea retrieved both gloves and examined them. Relyea noted a significant reduction in padding in both gloves in the area that covers the fingers and lower knuckle. Relyea also noted that the padding in both gloves was lumped into a large mass on the inside-back portion of the gloves. It appeared that the misplaced padding would have interfered with the fighter’s ability to slide his hand into the glove. Gilbert Nieves said that he did not provide the gloves in question to Ricardo Rodriguez. He stated that Chief Second Rodrigo Mosquera brought his own gloves claiming the “promoter” gave him permission to use his brand new “Reyes” gloves. Rodrigo Mosquera later claimed that referee Lou Moret had given him expressed permission to use the gloves in question. After the show, Promoter Ed Holmes was questioned about this incident by Relyea. After being advised of the problem with the gloves, Holmes denied giving Rodrigo Mosquera or anyone else permission to use their own gloves. Lead Inspector Relyea attempted to locate Ricardo Rodriguez and his other corner personnel, Gloria Mosquera and Ruben Chavez to question them about this incident. However they could not be located. Inspector Chris Crail supervised the hand wrapping and gloving of Rodriguez. Inspector Crail first became aware of the gloves in question when he noticed they were a different color from the other gloves in the room. Inspector Chris Crail left the dressing room to take the first bout into the ring. Volunteer inspector Robert Judge was left in the locker room along with inspector Joe Borielli. When Crail returned, he saw Robert Judge staged with Ricardo Rodriguez. A few moments later Robert Judge escorted Ricardo Rodriguez to the ring. Robert Judge is an applicant to the inspector position. He was working as a volunteer. Robert Judge is an experienced amateur boxer and is very familiar with boxing equipment. This was his third training show.

A disaster was averted but the fact that Lou Moret had to catch it at the very last minute is scary. Nobody involved in this matter is untarnished. Wonder what the politicians will be saying on Monday about Mosquera showing them up on the suspension matter?

Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |