JOE CORTEZ

Joe was born and raised in Spanish Harlem, and lived in Puerto Rico for eight years. Like many young men in the neighborhood, Joe and his brother Mike gravitated toward boxing. Joe won numerous awards as an amateur, including the 1961 National Golden Gloves Championship. He went on to an 18-1 record as a pro.

Joe became an amateur referee in 1976, and was pushed up to the pros by his mentor Pat Mascia after only 6 months. From there on, he has went on to referee over 150 World Chapionship bouts in over 10 countries. He has refereed Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, George Foreman, and Lennox Lewis, just to name a few.

Joe and his wife Sylvia now live in Las Vegas with their three daughters and two grandsons. His famaily suffered a tragic auto accident in 1996 in California, in which his wife and daughter Cindy were injured. The accident caused serious damage to Cindy, and she is now a quadriplegic. Because of her fighting spirit and her determination to get better, Joe now works to create awareness and raise funds for spinal cord injury research.

Joe has also used his success to help out with at risk youth, the Lions Club, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and he helped form a community outreach program to provide those in need with eye care service.

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