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Steve Smoger (born August 15, 1950 in Norfolk, VA) was an American boxing referee from Atlantic City, New Jersey. He has refereed more than 200 title bouts, and is one of the more well-traveled of his profession, holding the distinction of officiating in more states and countries than any other boxing referee in the history of the sport.

He has also officiated kickboxing matches.

Contents

1 Background

2 Achievements

3 Hall of Fame

4 Notable fights

5 Officiating Kickboxing

6 TV appearance

7 References

8 External links

Background

Appointed in 1980, Smoger was the first full-time city prosecutor in the history of Atlantic City, serving in that position until 1992, when he was appointed to the bench of the Atlantic County Municipal Court.

From 2002–2005, Smoger held the position of City Solicitor of the City of Atlantic. In 2005, he entered the private practice of law.

Smoger served as a member of the New Jersey Air National Guard and the United States Air Force Reserve. He held the position of Staff Judge Advocate and obtained the rank of colonel. He retired after 30 years of service.

On September 23, 1982 in New Jersey Smoger was first licensed as a professional boxing referee by then Commissioner Jersey Joe Walcott. The happening marked the 30th Anniversary of Jersey Joe Walcott vs. Rocky Marciano for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the World held on September 23, 1952 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In August 2017, he was appointed as the IBA Boxing Officials Committee co-chair.

Achievements

Smoger is a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame - Class of 1997. In 2001, he was designated the World's Best Professional Boxing Referee by The Ring magazine. In 2010, he was recognized by the World Boxing Association as Referee of the Year. In 2013 he was recognized by the International Boxing Association as the Referee of the Year.

Smoger is also a member of the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame - Class of 2013, as well as a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame - class of 2014.

On June 14, 2015, Smoger received the highest honor in the sport of professional boxing when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, Class of 2015, in Canastota, New York.

On May 27, 2017, in Atlantic City, Smoger became the first professional boxing referee to be inducted into the newly created Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame, joining Don King and Michael Spinks among other inductees.

Hall of Fame

Smoger's Hall of Fame resume comprises five inductions

New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame - Class of 1997

Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame - Class of 2013

Philadelphia Spots Hall of Fame - Class of 2014

International Boxing Hall of Fame - Class of 2015

Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame - Class of 2017

Notable fights

Smoger has officiated the bouts featuring such professional boxers as Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Ray Mercer, Steve Cunningham, John Ruiz, Roberto Durán, Hector Camacho, Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Mike McCallum, Vinny Pazienza, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Marcos Maidana, Félix Trinidad, Micky Ward, Arturo Gatti, Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest, Diego Corrales, Kelly Pavlik, Andre Ward, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Denis Lebedev, Bernard Hopkins, Lucia Rijker, Christy Martin, as well as a host of Philadelphia fighters including Gabe Rosado, Danny García, among others.

The list of notable bouts Smoger has officiated includes:

Vernon Forrest vs. Shane Mosley I

Bernard Hopkins vs. Félix Trinidad

Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor I

Roy Jones Jr. vs. Bernard Hopkinsx

Micky Ward vs. Emanuel Burton I - 2001 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year.

Andre Ward vs. Carl Froch I - Super Six World Boxing Classic Final.

Miguel Cotto - Antonio Margarito II

Officiating Kickboxing

In 2014, the World Kickboxing Network recognized Smoger as a qualified referee in kickboxing.

On November 14, 2014 he made his debut at kickboxing tournament Girl Power held live on Pay-Per-View in Liepaja, Latvia.

On March 10, 2017 Smoger was expected to officiate the first kickboxing World Cup held in Tehran, Iran.

Since February 10, 2017 he has officiated the bouts at the women's kickboxing series Girl Power live on SFR Sport 5.

TV appearance

Smoger appeared on numerous TV shows and networks including ESPN Friday Night Fights, Bigger's Better Boxing on Eurosport, HBO Boxing After Dark, ESPN Top Rank Boxing, Tuesday Night Fights, among others.

In 2015, Smoger served as official Rules Consultant for the Premier Boxing Champions Program on NBC.

The same year he has also appeared in Ali: Icon, Activist, Fighter documentary short dedicated to Muhammad Ali.