LAS VEGAS – When referee Thomas Taylor stepped into the boxing ring at 70,000-seat Allegiant Stadium with Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford to witness the raucous NFL venue glowing in flashing lights, he recalled the years-ago advice of a mentor.
“When you get in there tonight, it’s going to be packed. People are going to be cheering. Everything’s going to be nuts. Just take a look around. Soak it all in. Realize just how lucky we are to be doing what we’re doing.”
At 55, Southern California’s Taylor stands at the pinnacle of his career, having worked 65 world-championship fights, 122 title bouts and 830 fights total since his 2010 debut.
The Wisconsin-raised Taylor becomes the third man in the ring for another pay-per-view main event Saturday night at MGM Grand, when he referees the WBC junior-middleweight title fight between champion Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs), and Keith Thurman, 31-1 (23 KOs).
Taylor’s rise has been particularly meteoric since he landed the 2023 main event pitting Gervonta “Tank” Davis versus Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas.
The event not only marked his debut for the Nevada Athletic Commission, but it opened doors that led him to assignments in New York, Saudi Arabia, and even next month’s upcoming Amazon Prime Video reboot of “American Gladiators.”
Over the past 18 months, Taylor has worked the undisputed light-heavyweight title bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, a light-heavyweight bout between unbeatens David Benavidez and David Morrell, Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios, Crawford-Alvarez and last month’s Ryan Garcia welterweight title victory over Barrios.
“I looked at that list recently and thought, ‘This could’ve been one guy’s career.’ I’m so lucky, so blessed,” Taylor said. “I worked Garcia’s first amateur title. He comes up to me and says, ‘My name is Ryan Garcia and you should remember me.’
“You talk about full circle.”
Taylor, who maintains a full-time career as a private lender’s loan officer, deeply embraces that “full-circle” mentality of refereeing.
The next event he worked after Crawford-Canelo was a series of four-round fights at a 250-seat high-school gym.
One night, he’s watching Crawford emotionally dropping to his knees as the victorious scorecards are read, telling the five-division champion in a powerful photographed moment, “Take your time, thank Him for everything He’s given you, and when you’re ready, let’s get you up and get…
2026-03-27 16:00:00
Thomas Taylor's rise as the world's best referee all in the routine
