Steve Smoger, IBA Official and Referee of Over 200 World Title Bouts, Dies in AC at 79
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Atlantic, City, NJ (December 20th, 2022)– One tough man in the middle, noted boxing referee Steve Smoger, has died at age 79 in his native Ventnor City, New Jersey. No cause of death was reported. Smoger was a hard-nosed, no-nonsense respected referee in the mold of referee Mills Lane, who also passed away recently. In a 2010 Boxing Insider interview, Smoger stated “They wanted a referee that was a mover! I was complimented (by boxing commission officials and spectators) for moving and staying in sync with the fighters and staying in position.”
Smoger, born in Norfolk, Virginia, began refereeing in 1974 at amateur fights in the Atlantic City Police Athletic League. Smoger commenced his career as a professional referee on June 12, 1984, at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, referring Detroit lightweight C.B. Mustafa’s four-round decision win over Philadelphia’s debuting Mike Brown. For Steve Smoger, the journey would last until 2018, when he referred the last of his 1,051 bouts at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, refereeing a four-round draw between undefeated Philadelphia super bantamweight Romuel Cruz and debuting Mexican Jose Lopez of Puebla.
Steve Smoger, a local prosecutor, municipal judge, and member of the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame went on to become the person in charge of officials at the International Boxing Association, the lesser known of the major boxing sanctioning authorities, which he was running out of his home in Ventnor City, New Jersey.
A United States Air Force veteran, Smoger became the first full-time city prosecutor in Atlantic City in 1980. In 1992, Smoger became a municipal court judge in Atlantic County. He later served as city solicitor, and as a public defender in Atlantic City after entering private law practice. Smoger’s judicial career came in conflict with his career as a referee. In May 2003, the New Jersey Supreme Court reprimanded Smoger for ignoring an order to stop refereeing boxing matches while he was a judge in Pleasantville, Margate, Ventnor, and Port Republic. The court barred Smoger from serving as a court judge in New Jersey again. Steve continued his career as a boxing referee and IBA official without fanfare.
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