Mason "The Line" Dixon played by the professional boxer Antonio Tarver, as well as in I Spy with Eddie Murphy and in Play It To The Bone with Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson. The last "Fight of the Year" that he refereed was Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana in 2010. He called it "one of the most outstanding, skillful and exciting" championship fights that he refereed in his career. Cortez was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in November 1998 and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. He retired from refereeing in September 2012 after Canelo Alvarez vs Josesito Lopez fight, and is currently a boxing analyst for ESPN Sports. In 2017, Cortez assisted Conor McGregor with his transition to boxing for his super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Cortez was acting as the referee during Conor's sparring sessions while training for the bout. In 2020, at the age of 75, Cortez was hospitalized after contracting COVID-19 and pneumonia but said "...I assure my people in Puerto Rico that I will return.” Professional boxing record See also Spanish Golden Gloves Sports in Puerto Rico References External links Fair But Firm.com Boxing In Your Face with Joe Cortez ringsidereport.com interview with Cortez 1945 births American boxing referees Living people International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Puerto Rican male boxers Puerto Rican referees and umpires Featherweight boxers