Wednesday, June 25, 1997 | 10:39 a.m.
Usually, Bob Arum, Don King and Dino Duva agree only to disagree. The boxing promoters rarely, if ever, find a common ground -- unless it's a ledge from which to push each other off.
But if you bring up Marc Ratner's name to any of them, the bickering stops and the praise begins.
The executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission has earned the respect of the rival fight promoters and there's no secret to why. Actually, it's pretty simple.
"My whole ethical basis is being fair," said Ratner, who has been handling the executive director duties since Chuck Minker died five years ago from lung cancer. "My big thing is whoever comes here (to Nevada) knows they'll get a fair shake."
It is the code by which Ratner lives. Whether he's assigning officials for a high school soccer match, working as a referee in a Western Athletic Conference football game, keeping the shot clock at a UNLV basketball game or overseeing a megafight like Saturday's World Boxing Association heavyweight championship between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson at the MGM Grand Garden, Ratner remains the same.
"It has to be ethical and be done that way," he said of all of his sporting responsibilities. "A lot of it is exercising good common sense and good judgment.
"I look at my background as an official and I lean on that experience. That's why I never care who wins a fight. My only concern is that both fighters are treated fairly."
To that end, Ratner has been at the forefront for change in boxing's infrastructure. He has long been a proponent of standardized rules in all 50 states and has worked to improve working conditions for fighters in terms of medical support, insurance and establishing a boxing registry.
Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nevada) and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) ran with Ratner's idea with their boxing safety bill passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton. Beginning next month, all fighters appearing on cards in the United States will have to be registered nationally.
"Boxing needed this push," Ratner said of the step toward standardization. "I'm grateful to Senator Bryan and Senator McCain for carrying the ball on this."
It may well be Ratner's legacy as a boxing official. But enhancing Nevada's boxing integrity may be more important.
"The most important thing Marc has done is he has made the Nevada Athletic Commission the best in the world," said Dr. James Nave, the former commission chairman who remains on the five-member panel which regulates boxing in the Silver State. "Years ago, we didn't have that good reputation. Now we do."
Ratner says he's merely trying to carry on Minker's legacy, which was to make Nevada the world's boxing capital.
"It really started with Chuckie," Ratner said. "A lot of the things we do today, like the post-fight meetings with our referees and judges, Chuckie started that. We've always tried to be at the forefront.
"When Chuckie died, he was on his way to being the top regulator in the world. I had no plans to be the executive director. I was happy being chief inspector and being Chuckie's right-hand man. That was good enough for me."
When Minker died in 1992, there was little question who would succeed him.
However, there was a slight problem. The state froze the position and there was no money to pay Ratner, or anyone, to be executive director of the athletic commission.
Ratner was promoted and worked for free for 15 months. He accepted the $56,000-a-year job officially in 1994.
So without missing a beat, the commission did business, boxing continued to adorn the marquee of the major Strip hotel-casinos, and Ratner became one of the sport's most prominent figures. Now, at 52, he is comfortable wearing the many hats associated with his position.
"Sure, my visibility has increased," he said. "More people know who I am now. But my philosophies haven't changed. We're still doing business the same way."
And when crises evolve, as they inevitably do in boxing, Ratner has been able to resolve matters to the mutual satisfaction of those involved.
"I'm fortunate that the commission doesn't micro-manage me," he said. "Plus, I have a great staff with Chuck Sledge (Ratner's replacement as chief inspector), Sandy Johnson, Colleen Patchin and Barbara Ponce of our office staff. They've been a huge help to me.
"Public relations is an important part of this job. You have to make yourself available to the media. We've had some big controversies the last few years and you can't duck when 200 reporters want to talk to you. You have to get out to the press and explain your decisions and your reasons."
Ratner can only hope Saturday's Holyfield-Tyson rematch goes as smoothly as the first fight did last November. To him, this fight is boxing's Super Bowl. He would be terribly disappointed if things went awry.
"There are fights that go on the sports page and there are fights that go on the back page," he said. "This is a front-page fight."
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