A comforting smile creases the face of 83-year-old Jerry Jakubco when he reminisces about his halcyon days traveling the globe as a veteran professional boxing judge.

Pictures of boxing royalty such as Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard and many others adorn the walls of the cramped yet cozy office within his family law firm in Chicago. Priceless boxing licenses, treasured photos, newspaper clippings and certificates evoke fond memories and anecdotes as he invites a curious visitor into his happy place.

The 2020 Illinois Boxing Hall of Famer always loved the sport, even when he discovered he wasn’t cut out to participate as a boxer himself. He fondly remembers watching regular Friday Night Fights on television with his father. And he is concerned about the future of boxing as the younger generation focuses on mixed martial arts.

“I got into boxing through going to St. Andrew Grammar School because Bishop Sheil, who was our pastor at the time, was involved in the CYO boxing program and we were having those tournaments at St. Andrew Gymnasium on Paulina and Addison in Chicago. Also, the Golden Gloves were being held there,” Jakubco recalled of his youth.

“So at a young age, I watched boxing when the tournaments were being presented there and the gym instructor I had at St. Andrew was a national Golden Gloves champion who kind of pushed us all into boxing. I tried the sport myself but was not competent enough to continue boxing.”

That disappointment may have been a blessing in disguise since Jakubco was able to carve out an exciting long-term advocation while balancing a career as an attorney. He remembers how it all began for him.

“What happened was after many boxing shows I became the coordinator with the tournaments at the St. Andrew gymnasium and eventually I got asked to become a judge of the amateur boxing programs,” he said.

“That was not easy because back then the Chicago Tribune was the sponsor of the Golden Gloves tournaments and there might have been about 20 to 50 different judges that were working the tournaments. I was on the bottom of the list so I had to work my way up. Finally, when I did get an assignment to work some of the shows… after doing a lot of non-tournament assignments such as private show tournaments… they let me judge some of the bigger tournaments. I did that, believe it or not, for about 13 years. I got the amateur license to do that.”

That was the break Jakubco needed to take the next step. Because in 1985 he was issued a professional judge’s license. He has assisted in judging 720 fights, including championship fights.

While judging fights involving the likes of Roberto Duran stand out in Jakubco’s memory, he also recalls the dangerous moments when agitated ringside fans wanted to take out their frustrations on the judges.

“I had a fight like that in Miami, Florida in 1999 where I was threatened to be killed,” he recalled. “It was a close decision between the Colombian champion and a contender from Nicaragua. The fans went crazy because it was a one-point decision.

“Myself and another judge gave it to the Colombian champion. The Nicaraguan fan came up to me and the Mexican judge and said, ‘We’re going to kill you tonight!’ They actually had to usher me and the Mexican judge out with a police escort.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking. I got out of the arena and went back to the hotel, packed my bags, called the cab, went to the airport and got lost in the airport until my plane took off the next morning. I didn’t want to be around the hotel.”

Then there was another truly memorable fight in St. Louis.

“Some judges will see things one way and some will see it another. I hate to say this, but I did a fight in St. Louis where I was the odd man out,” he recalled. “The other judges thought the champion won the fight and I thought it was the contender. It was a good fight, but that’s not one of my memories that I like to remember.”

Jakubco heads his family-run business that specializes in real estate matters and estate planning with his daughter, Kristan and son Nick. He hopes his children and grandchildren always will cherish and respect his accomplishments for years to come. His wife, Karen, was patient enough to allow Jacubko to chase his dreams as a boxing judge.

“I’ve done fights in like 10 different countries, not counting all the fights in the United States,” he said. “I’ve done fights all over the United States. But when you think about all the different places I’ve visited… I did fights in Canada, I did fights outside of Toronto, outside of Montreal, in Quebec City. I did fights in Northern Ireland, in England, Germany….”

So how did his family handle all of his traveling while he also was a lawyer for 56 years?

“It was not easy. I have good workers here (at the office). You know, at one time I had four full-time girls working here that could carry the office,” he said. “And then when Kristan came along; she’s been a lawyer approximately 28 years. It was easy when I would go away… and then my son has been a lawyer for about 23 years. And he was here to help out so that they could always cover for me. I’m not like a trial lawyer that I had to be on trial or someplace. I could have other people fill in for my work, you know.

“I did a lot of traveling. I won’t even take a traveling assignment anymore.”

Notable bouts Judged by Jerry Jakubco


    • Evgeny Gradovich vs Mauricio Javier Munoz (2013-07-27) IBF
    • Juan Carlos Salgado vs. Martin Honorio (2012-04-28) IBF
    • 
Lanardo Tyner vs. Vivian Harris (2011-07-15) USBO
    • Lucian Bute vs. Jean-Paul Mendy (2011-07-09)  IBF
    • Andy Lee vs.  Alex Bunema (2011-05-18) NABA & NABF
    • Osumanu Adama vs. Marcus Upshaw (2011-03-25) USBA,  IBO International
    • Carl Davis vs. Arthur Williams (2010-12-17)  US

Jerry Jakubco

    • Jakubco has judged world title bouts for the IBF, IBO, WBC, WBO as well regional title bouts for the NABA, NABF & USBA
    • Elected to the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame 2020

(Source: BoxRec.com)

Jerry Jakubco, shown in the top row, was inducted into the Illinois Boxing and Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2020.

Jerry Jakubco poses with his family: wife Karen, son Nick and daughter Kristan.