Kenny Bayless has ascended to the upper echelons of boxing referees, drawing inspiration from the legendary Muhammad Ali. His illustrious career includes officiating some of the most significant professional fights in recent history. In May 2015, Bayless was the referee for the record-breaking showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Fast forward to July of the same year, and Bayless found himself in the center of the action once again. He supervised Antonio Margarito‘s 11th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto. So, it’s a great deal for the boxing world when it comes to his retirement. However, there’s still a stain on his career that isn’t ready to leave his trail. What is it?

Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana II: mar on Kenny Bayless’s career

Kenny Bayless has left an indelible mark on boxing, particularly in the realm of pay-per-view spectacles. Notably, he presided over two of the most significant pay-per-view events in boxing history. Bayless served as the referee for David Benavidez‘s triumph against Caleb Plant in 2023. Previously, he found himself in the center of the ring for the second iconic fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury in 2017.

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Moreover, Bayless has also officiated a total of seven of Mayweather’s fights. However, the most infamous one is when Mayweather decided to indulge in a rematch against Marcos Maidana. During the rematch, some fans and commentators expressed dissent over the referee’s intervention. They perceived it as overly assertive, especially when Maidana sought to engage Mayweather at close quarters.

The dynamics of the fight differed significantly from their initial encounter, where Maidana managed to press Mayweather on the inside. In this rematch, Mayweather dominated, and Kenny Bayless consistently intervened. Thus, preemptively breaking their clinches. This was deemed unfair by a lot of fans, and many also brought it up during the news of his retirement.

Fans accuse Kenny Bayless of being biased

The fans were told about the news on X by Rick Glaser. Some fans wished him the best, however, some fans reminded the world about his infamous fight. One of the fans stated that Bayless was one of the best referees the world had seen. They also believe that Harvey Dock has taken that position now.

Another fan addressed the great referee Bayless as Floyd Mayweather’s “personal bodyguard”.

One fan wished him the best as Bayless has decided to take his leave from the boxing world. They had good things to say about his retirement.

A fan was shocked after they got to learn about Bayless’s age. Then they stated that it was all these years that he had been Mayweather’s ‘personal referee’.

An X user stated he was a great referee until the rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana. Then he stated that biases stained the last decade of his career.

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So, there were fans who wished him properly for his retirement, however many fans are still angry about his decision during the Mayweather-Maidana rematch. What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments section.

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