(This is the first of three articles on Northern Nevada referees in professional boxing.)
Referee Norm Budden may not have a catchphrase like Mills Lane ("Let's get it on!") or Joe Cortez ("Remember guys, I'm fair but I'm firm"), but the longtime Carson City resident has been drawing some critical acclaim as of late.
Marc Ratner, executive director for the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), said he's been pleased with the progress of Budden, who was the third man in the ring when Zab Judah and Rafael Pineda hooked up on May 15 for the vacant World Boxing Organization Intercontinental welterweight title and WBO world title eliminator, in Las Vegas.
"Norm's getting more work, more rounds," Ratner said. "He's getting more confident in himself. We've brought him down to Las Vegas a couple of times and we're going to bring him down here some more. He'll be able to step it up enough to be one of the top refs in the state. He'll get his shot. He's getting better and better and getting known more."
But gaining recognition and counting how many world title fights he's worked isn't one of Budden's top priorities.
"I just enjoy doing it. It's the best seat in the house," said the 62-year-old Budden. "It's just as much fun doing a four-rounder in Yerington as it is a big fight. It's just as important to the guys fighting as it is a world title."
Budden moved to Carson City from Boise, Idaho, in 1957, and began boxing in the United States Army in 1958. After leaving the military in 1962, Budden began working at Nevada State Printing Office, where he worked his way up from apprentice to deputy state printer during a 32-year career.
Now retired, Budden said he has four interests in life: his four grandchildren, hunting and fishing, and boxing.
"I grew up around boxing," said Budden, whose stepfather was legendary Carson trainer Ted Walker. "I traveled with (Walker) when he worked in Idaho. We used to go all over the Northwest. (Walker) had a boxing ring he used to rent out to people and I'd set it up for him."
As fate would have it, one day Budden was setting up a ring for Roby Willis at Stewart Indian School and was asked to judge some amateur boxing matches.
"That's how I got into refereeing," said Budden, whose first professional assignment was in Carson during one of Willis' annual Nevada Day Fights. "Roby worked out putting on a clinic. He'd have intrasquad fights to decide who would be on the team and we had 40-plus fights that night. The following week there were 25 bouts in Nixon, and I was the only ref."
Budden, who said he doesn't attend boxing conventions even though they go a long way in assuring assignments, briefly retired from the sport, but his love for the game drew him back about four years ago. He also gave up the amateurs to concentrate solely on the professional ranks.
"The older I got, the harder it became for me," Budden said of his decision to stick with the pros. "The difference between amateur and pros is night and day. The last thing you want to do in the pros is make an amateur call. I do miss the kids, though. I would be refereeing kids whose dads I used to ref."
Even though his own star is on the rise, Budden said there's plenty of room for others to come aboard as referees.
"In my mind, (NSAC inspector) Don Kennedy and (Nevada Wolf Pack assistant coach) Pat Schellin can come in now," Budden said. "They've more than paid their dues in the amateurs. I'm a firm believer that you should pay your dues in the amateurs."
Budden, who said he picked up several pointers from Lane, is also a firm believer that a good ref should know when it's time to hang up the rubber gloves.
"The older you get, your reflexes slow down," Budden said. "You know when you can't do it 100 percent anymore, you call it quits. You don't want anyone to get hurt."
Budden said there is a delicate counterbalance to being a part of a great fight like the one he refereed between Jeff Franklin and Lupe Gutierrez (in Reno for the USBA lightweight belt in 1989) and knowing you have someone's life in your hands.
"The hardest part is stopping a fight a lot of times," Budden said. "I know I'm going to catch flack, but that's what you're in there for - so nobody gets hurt. People always yell at you. Mills (Lane) told me, 'If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.'"
At 6-foot, 210 pounds, Budden has a bear trap for a handshake and stays in condition by doing sit-ups and working out on the treadmill and with weights. He said he hopes to stay in good health and continue his career for a few more years and that there's only place he wants to do it in.
"I love it here in Carson City," Budden said. "Ted Walker had a saying that people always move away, but they always come back. It's everything I wanted here."
Contact Mike Houser at Houser9502@aol.com