Man in the Middle

Published 9:35 am Friday, February 22, 2008

MILL CREEK — If he hadn’t poked his head inside a musty, smoke-filled Seattle gym as a curious teenager, Bobby Howard is sure he would have passed his time in the wrong places engaged in the wrong sorts of activities.

Boxing kept Howard off the streets and — for the most part — out of trouble.

“It saved my life,” he said.

Two of Howard’s neighborhood pals didn’t follow the same path he and his brother chose and ultimately saw their lives cut short. One was shot by police during an attempted robbery, the other was killed during a drug deal.

“I don’t know if I would have been dealing drugs,” Howard said, “but I probably would have been on them like every other kid I grew up with in that neighborhood.”

Not counting his unofficial debut — a six-round draw against an intimidating, tattooed ex-sailor in Sacramento — as a 17-year-old with false paperwork, Howard logged 26 professional fights in less than five years and was known as “King of the Draws” amongst his peers.

His final bout was in September 1981. Nine years later, Howard stepped back into the ring as a referee and found himself an unorthodox side job that he’s had ever since.

A deputy with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office the past 21 years, Howard, 45, recently moved from Kenmore to Mill Creek, where he hopes to open a boxing gym once his family settles in.

Howard’s boxing background has come into play at his day job more than once.

“I can talk to kids as a deputy sheriff and it goes in one ear and out the other,” he said. “When I talk to them as a boxing coach, it’s like the word of God.”

No stranger to the local street fighting circuit, Howard grew up a boxing fan and always wondered how it would feel to fight “with gloves on.” At 14, his foray into the sport began.

Howard progressed quickly, though he seemed to remain a jab or two behind his brother Tommy, who was a couple years older and packed more punch. In no time, the brothers earned a reputation that spread throughout the neighborhood .

“People left us alone,” Howard said. “We liked the competition between the two of us. He was bigger and stronger. I was faster. It balanced us out.”

Laying low

An unanticipated run-in with Muhammed Ali resuscitated Howard’s interest in boxing. The ex-world champion was making a rare Seattle appearance to watch a July 19, 1990 card at the Kingdome.

That morning, Howard’s wife gave birth to the couple’s first child. That evening, benefiting from his connections through the sheriff’s office, Howard was able to wind his way through Ali’s massive entourage and steal a moment with the famed heavyweight.

“I touched him on the elbow and said, ‘Hey Champ,’” Howard recalled. “He turned around and I said, ‘I’d love to tell my son that on the greatest day of my life, the day he was born, I met The Greatest.’”

The state boxing commissioner approached Howard that same night, asking if he was considering a return to boxing.

“He told me, ‘We need referees. All our guys are dying off,’” Howard said.

Two weeks later, Howard worked his first show and has since become one of the most respected referees in the Northwest, working hundreds of matches.

“Being an ex-fighter himself, he knows what he’s doing,” said Edmonds lightweight Martin O’Malley. “A lot of refs don’t always know what they’re looking at. There’s a lot of stuff that wouldn’t be seen by somebody who hadn’t been in the ring before.”

Howard has worked televised fights for Fox, Showtime and Telemundo and is a regular at such local boxing venues as the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester and the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, where he handled O’Malley’s main event fight in June.

The quickness Howard relied on as a fighter has been of even greater use as a referee. Whether its a pair of 250-pound sluggers swapping blows or two bouncy flyweights, staying out of the way of the action takes some fancy footwork.

“I’m not unsure in the ring when I move around,” Howard said. “I’ve been in there my whole life now.”

Fighters like that Howard does his best to lay low.

“If you’re watching a fight and you don’t notice he’s there, that’s the sign of a good ref,” O’Malley said. “Bobby does as good a job as any ref I’ve seen. In my mind, he’s up there with some of the best in boxing.”

Though tie-ups between fighters are inevitable, Howard tries to refrain from stepping in unless there’s good reason. And he keeps his warnings brief.

“I don’t break them for a long period of time,” Howard said. “I’m in and out. If it’s not an egregious foul, I’ll just say, ‘Keep ‘em up.’”

“He lets you fight it out,” O’Malley added. “A lot of refs will jump in and get involved a lot. That just breaks up the rhythm of the fight.”

‘Pro style’ instruction

At his peak Howard was working 12-15 shows a year. These days, he moonlights every other month, trading dates with a handful of other licensed referees.

He has worked Toughman matches — where there’s no purse awaiting the combatants, just trophies — but hasn’t been asked back.

“I stopped two fights too quickly for their tastes,” he said.

One of the many problems Howard has with boxing is watching referees let fights continue too long.

“I like having the opportunity to help fighters out,” he said. “I’ve seen too many people who don’t do the right thing and end up hurting fighters … I think I’ve saved a few fighters.”

With fewer opportunities to referee, Howard may invest more time in training.

“I know I’m a better trainer than a lot of guys, not as good as some,” he said. “I know I’m a lot better than some of these guys working championship corners.”

After his attempt at opening a gym in Mountlake Terrace in the early ‘90s was shot down, Howard spent five months as head trainer at Kenmore Square Boxing Club. When he parted ways with the owners, Howard said half the members followed him out the door and the club later became a kickboxing gym.

If all goes well, Howard expects to have his own gym up and running as early as February. He’s scouting locations close to home.

“There’s a need for a gym up here,” he said. “I think it would be a great recreational tool for the community. A lot of people could utilize it.”

Howard will offer “pro style” instruction a few nights a week and some weekends. The hours could increase if he finds a partner.

“I look at all the boxing people I know and a lot of times their family life is in a shambles because they spend so much time at the gym,” he said. “I don’t want that to happen to me.”

With 32 years in boxing as a fighter, referee and trainer, Howard looks past the sport’s increasingly negative portrayal. He’s seen fighters turn their lives around due to the focus and discipline boxing requires and the guidance they receive from honest managers and trainers.

“I love the sport,” he said, “but it’s not for everybody.”

For Howard, it just so happened to be a life-saver.