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Byrd to referee Mayweather v Guerrero

Floyd Mayweather Jr is back focused on boxing after a spell away © Getty Images

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Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr was formally licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission at its monthly meeting on Monday.

The move was a formality that cleared the way for Mayweather to defend his welterweight title against interim titleholder Robert Guerrero on May 4 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Nevada boxing licenses must be renewed annually, and Mayweather has not fought since outpointing Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas last May. Typically, licenses are approved without the application appearing on the commission agenda. However, for fighters older than 35 the request must be voted on by the commission.

Mayweather turned 36 on February 24. The five-member commission voted 4-0 to license Mayweather; one member was absent.

The commission also voted unanimously on the officials for Mayweather-Guerrero as well as for the fight between featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon and challenger Abner Mares, who will meet in the May 4 co-feature.

Robert Byrd, a veteran Nevada referee, will serve as the third man in the ring for Mayweather-Guerrero. It will be the first time he has worked a Mayweather fight. Byrd has worked two previous Guerrero bouts, his 2006 no-decision against Orlando Salido in a featherweight world title fight and a 2003 first-round knockout of Jose Luis Tula.

Selected to judge Mayweather-Guerrero were Duane Ford and Jerry Roth, both longtime Nevada judges with lots of championship experience, and New York's Julie Lederman, who also has a lot of world title experience.

Jay Nady of Nevada will serve as the referee for Ponce De Leon-Mares. Judges assigned to the bout are Dick Houck and Robert Hoyle, both of Nevada, and Michael Pernick of Florida.

This article first appeared on ESPN.com

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