Steve Smoger (August 15, 1950 – December 19, 2022) was an American
boxing referee from
Atlantic City, New Jersey. He refereed more than 200 title bouts, and was 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.
Smoger also officiated
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
matches.
Background
Raised in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, Smoger graduated from
Atlantic City High School. He attended
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
and the
George Washington University Law School
The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...
.
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 to 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
The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...
and obtained the rank of
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
. 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 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
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Box ...
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.
Notable fights
Smoger officiated the bouts featuring such professional boxers as
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
,
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
,
Larry Holmes,
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
,
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
Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
,
Micky Ward,
Arturo Gatti,
Miguel Cotto,
Zab Judah,
Shane Mosley,
Vernon Forrest
Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, '' Ring'' magazine and lineal welterw ...
,
Diego Corrales,
Kelly Pavlik,
Andre Ward,
Gennady Golovkin
Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin (Cyrillic: ; also spelled Gennady; born 8 April 1982), often known by his nickname "GGG" or "Triple G", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-time ...
,
Sergey Kovalev,
Denis Lebedev,
Bernard Hopkins,
Lucia Rijker,
Christy Martin, as well as a host of Philadelphia fighters including
Gabe Rosado
Gabriel Rosado (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional boxer who challenged twice for a middleweight world title in 2013. Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rosado is part of the city's large Puerto Rican community. Renowned f ...
,
Danny García, among others.
The list of notable bouts Smoger officiated includes:
*Vernon Forrest vs. Shane Mosley
*Bernard Hopkins vs. Félix Trinida
*Kelly Pavlik vs.
Jermain Taylor *Roy Jones Jr. vs. Bernard Hopkin
*Micky Ward vs.
Emanuel Burton
Emanuel Augustus (born Emanuel Ya'kov Burton, January 2, 1975), is an American former professional boxer from Brownsville, Texas who competed from 1994 to 2011. He was known as The Drunken Master, taken from the Jackie Chan films of the same na ...
- 2001
The Ring (magazine), ''Ring'' magazine Fight of the Year.
*Andre Ward vs.
Carl Froch -
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.
From February 10, 2017, he officiated the bouts at the women's kickboxing series Girl Power live on SFR Sport 5.
Television appearances
Smoger appeared on numerous television shows and networks including
ESPN's ''Friday Night Fights'',
Bigger's Better Boxing on
Eurosport,
HBO's ''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
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoger, Steve
1950 births
2022 deaths
Boxing referees
American boxing referees
Atlantic City High School alumni
George Washington University Law School alumni
Pennsylvania State University alumni
People from Norfolk, Virginia
People from Atlantic City, New Jersey
New Jersey National Guard personnel
New Jersey state court judges