Despite his 5 foot 4 inch size, David 'Davey' Pearl commanded great respect and affection from those who knew him in boxing..
Not only was he a terrific referee, he was a man of solid principles, hard nosed but a lovely guy as well, you'll rarely hear a harsh word spoken of Pearl, he was as straight as they come.. Pearl was truly dedicated to boxing, first as a judge then as a referee.
"I know he either lied about his age so he could continue working, or Nevada knew and decided it just didn’t matter," Mike Katz said. "Even at 80, and as small as he was, he still had the command necessary in the ring."
Before his celebrated career as a referee of more than 70 championship fights, Pearl took up boxing as part of a self-defense program.
After five years in the armed services, Pearl got a job judging professional fights. That led to referring, although it was several years before he landed a title fight.
"I was doing mostly club fights in Vegas, and they were always telling me I was too small to do a title fight," Pearl said in an earlier interview.
He finally got his chance to do a title bout, a junior middleweight world championship bout yet It wasn’t long after that fight that Pearl was asked to referee the biggest fight of his life the Ali-Spinks fight in 1978. That one elevated Pearls refereeing profile.
To Pearl refereeing wasn't about the money, it was his passion (Pearl said the most he ever received as a referee was $1,500 for a fight, and when he received $1,000 for officiating Ali-Spinks, it was the first four-figure check ever paid to a Nevada referee), he’s had to rely on other sources of income. Despite his size, Davey refereed many more huge events, involving men who would dwarf him in physical stature, Larry Holmes v James Smith, and Shavers.. Mike Dokes v Lynn Ball, Dwight Muhammad Qawi v Jerry Martin and the huge first fight between Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.. Yet years before all of these fights Davey was involved at the highest level in a different capacity.. In 1968 Pearl refereed the Sonny Liston v Bill McMurray fight in Reno, little did he know then that a year later Davey would become Sonnys official manager and friend... Pearl was with Sonny for the final two fights of his career ending with a victory over Chuck Wepner in 1970.. Davey spoke openly about Liston, proclaiming that Sonny sure as hell never killed himself with an overdose, Pearl was adamant that Liston was murdered, and that Sonny was portrayed by Ali as a monster and typecast in public as such.. Sonny was a great guy, a family guy, very caring, a complete contrast to what you've been fed..
Pearl had worked in casino bingo halls and had operated bars in Las Vegas, including the popular Davey’s Locker on East Desert Inn Road, which became synonymous with boxing characters.. During his final years, Davey was suffering from Alzheimer's, boxing friend and fellow referee Toby Gibson took the time to care for the ailing Pearl until his passing in 2006 aged 88..
Sadly two years later in an unrelated incident Toby Gibson would take his own life..
Davey Pearl was survived by his wife, Janet but was preceded in death by his twin brother, Lou, in 2004.
Daveys passing catchphrase that is so often used by referees today is "I've explained the rules to you both in the dressing room!" That was a Davey Pearl original..
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