Guy Jutras

Professional career

Jutras made his professional debut on September 29, 1952, fighting four of his five bouts within a five-week span at the Valley Arena Gardens and winning three by knockout. He used the earnings to pay for his college education at Springfield College in Massachusetts, where he studied to become a physical education teacher and earned a B.Sc. degree in 1955. After returning to Montreal, his mother—the first female broker in Quebec—provided his education in the insurance industry, and he worked for an insurance company for 17 years while maintaining his love for boxing by refereeing amateur fights.

In 1969, he started refereeing professionally, with his first official event involving a fight with Donato Paduano. He refereed his first Canadian title fight in 1978 at the Montreal Forum between lightweights Gaétan Hart and Cleveland Denny. The World Boxing Association recruited Jutras in 1979 after he was scouted by a WBA member and attended seminars; he officiated a bout and impressed the committee enough to gain clearance. Known as a fighter's referee who stayed out of the way, he drew criticism from Montreal fans for stopping the 1980 Gaétan Hart–Ralph Racine bout in the 11th round, a decision validated when Racine collapsed and was rushed to hospital for emergency brain surgery.

Jutras refereed the controversial Eusebio Pedroza–Juan Laporte featherweight title bout on January 24, 1982, in Atlantic City; the New Jersey State Athletic Commission attempted to reverse Pedroza's decision win, stating the referee should have disqualified him for repeated fouls, and Jutras received a six-month suspension before being exonerated at a WBA hearing. He traveled to London, England, to referee Frank Bruno vs. Gerrie Coetzee at Wembley Stadium in 1987.

After retiring from refereeing at age 67, he continued working as a judge for the WBA. His judging career spanned from 1980 to 2011, including world championship fights such as Wilfredo Gómez vs. Rocky Lockridge (1985), Barry McGuigan vs. Steve Cruz (1986), Vinny Paz vs. Gilbert Dele (1991), Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio César Vásquez (1995), Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Tapia I (1999), and Juan Manuel Márquez vs. Manny Pacquiao (2004). Jutras also combined media work as a television commentator and radio host (1997–2009) with his role as co-founder and assistant matchmaker for Interbox Promotions (1997–2002).

Legacy

Guy Jutras worked as a judge or referee in more than 75 world championship bouts. His duties took him to major U.S. cities and to nations including England, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Thailand, and Japan. He earned a spot in the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1979 and, on June 9, 2019, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as the fourth Quebecer to receive that honor.