This was quite the week for promotion of the May 5 Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin rematch, which will unfold in Las Vegas, where some folks thundered was the scene of a crime against humanity because they believed the Kazakhstani boxer deserved to get the win in their first go-round.

A story written by Jeff Powell which ran in the U.K.’s Daily Mail, last September, has even been making the rounds again this week, after Golovkin kicked up a hornet’s nest about Canelo. “GGG” said he thinks Canelo was dirty for their first fight, and also said he thinks judges who score fights with egregious error should be treated harshly, like they are terrorists. Yeah, Golovkin took the gloves off, no more Mr. Nice Guy…

But one element of the Powell story, from Sept. 27, 2017, stood out:

“It is customary in boxing for the promoters to meet those fees. Golden Boy were the lead promoters, with Golovkin’s promotion company secondary. Only Golden Boy wrote out the cheques, while Commission Chief Executive Bob Bennett estimates that the judges are likely to have received somewhere between $100,000 (£74,194) and $500,000 (£370,892) each. That is an eye-watering amount.”

Really? That section caught my eye upon a re-read…

Is that what the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Bob Bennett told Powell?

“NO!” Bennett messaged me, when I asked him about that quote and those ludicrously inflated numbers. “Unfortunately I’ve been misquoted so many times, it’s really unprofessional and unacceptable.”

Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo’s promoter, also weighed in.

I asked him about that quote and the alleged level of pay.

“Not true,” Gomez said. “We pay the commission and all working officials. All promoters do. Commission gives us a payout sheet for fighters, officials and commission fees. We hand them the checks and they hand to fighters and officials. So dumb. (Powell) can call any commission. It’s public record. They will explain the process. $100-$500k? Sh*t, I’m in the wrong business.”

Or maybe Powell is…Jeff, c’mon, man.

You really thought judges make that kind of bread for one night of work? Daily Mail, you might need to get this guy an appointment with an ear doctor because I think excessive wax build-up is a factor here.

Follow Michael Woods on Twitter @Woodsy1069.

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