Hubert Earle was a world-class boxing official who was respected for his fairness and impartial officiating. His career was highlighted by his position as the first Canadian referee to be appointed by the New York State Athletic Commission to referee a main bout in Madison Square Garden. This was a world-title fight between two future boxing hall-of-famers, Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Calzaghe.

Hubert Earle confesses he’s allergic to pain. He boxed once in a practice gym, was knocked senseless and decided that wasn’t for him.

He is obviously a quick learner. He decided, if he wanted to be part of the sport, it would be as an official and administrator. Forty years later, he’s the director of combat sport for the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority, an organization he chaired for several years. Hubert works with the provincial government’s Department of Health and Wellness, formerly Health Promotion and Protection.

Hubert Earle is also a world class boxing referee, still officiating world title bouts in far-flung places around the globe. In his home, Hubert Earle has a wall of pictures, boxing posters and presentation plaques recognizing some of the hundreds of fights he’s officiated.

Hubert is a builder in the true sense. He has volunteered thousands of hours to write and re-write rules and regulations that make his sports safer for the competitors, and more understanding to the coaches, trainers, promoters and spectators.

He has worked hard to get where he is, never considering the compensation that comes with some phases of his job (he says it has cost him plenty of money from his pocket to referee around the world in lost wages from jobs and minor expenses not covered by the World Boxing Association that hires him).

He has been a student all his life, learning what he can about each area of the combat sports. When the viability of mixed martial arts was an issue as it came to Nova Scotia, Hubert got into the ring with men half his age and more to learn what the competitors saw and felt. He spent six months in pain and basically on the couch after his first “rolling” session (MMA’s equivalent to boxing’s sparring). He never rolled again, but truly knew what went on in the cage. In the late 1990s, while heading the Authority, Hubert initiated mandatory infectious disease testing and head CT scans throughout Canada. He drafted a manual of guidelines for Canadian Boxing Association referees, runs medical seminars as he shows doctors what a ring doctor needs to know, and sessions for ring officials. He also oversees annual updates of rules and regulations for boxing and MMA in Nova Scotia.

“I always liked boxing,” he says. “I’d go to the fights at the Forum and yell at the referees if I thought they were wrong. One day, someone sitting near me said, ‘If you think you’re so good, why don’t you try it.'”

Hubert laughs, as he does often when he gets embarrassed talking about himself. “I decided I could have the best seat in the house — in the ring – , not pay for a ticket and be paid to do something I enjoyed,” he says.

He trained with Hall of Famer Bobby Beaton for three years and finally was assigned a bout. That started a local career that blossomed to international when the very shy Hubert finally spoke with another Hall of Famer, Murray Sleep, who was with the WBA.

“What took you so long (to approach me)?, asked Sleep, and, recognizing Hubert’s talent, arranged for him to get world fights.

“My knees were shaking when I did my first one, in Fort Worth, Texas, with welterweight Donald Curry,” says Hubert. “But, even today, those start-of-bout jitters are gone in seconds and you go to work.”

He admits stepping through the ropes still gives him his greatest thrill even though what he does for the Boxing Authority has, through concern for safety, far greater impact on the men and women who compete in boxing and mixed martial arts.

Bio Courtesy of Joel Jacobson