It used to be a thing in Las Vegas that if a fighter was moving forward, he was winning.

He could be eating three counterpunches on his way inside to deliver one shot, but it rarely mattered. If he was aggressive, effective or otherwise, the judges would usually reward him when the 10s and 9s were tallied.

There was no unwritten rule about this, no under the table dealings or anything of that nature. It just seemed to be how the wind blew in the desert.

So, back in the day, a master boxer such as Pernell Whitaker wasn’t getting any favors. Just look at a prime example of this phenomenon, his 1997 fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

Thankfully, the old boys club that rewarded forward motion almost exclusively has faded into the past, and major bouts in the "fight capital of the world" and around the globe are normally staffed by veteran (but not old) officials who follow the four accepted categories used to score a fight.

Clean punches, defense, effective aggression and ring generalship.

And tasked with scoring the biggest fight of the year between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas are Tim Cheatham, Max De Luca and Steve Weisfeld.

According to records kept by BoxRec, New Jersey’s Weisfeld is the senior member of the crew, having judged a remarkable 3,156 bouts. Weisfeld is also seen as someone who is among the best when it comes to scoring fights. Following Weisfeld in the experience column is California's De Luca, who has judged 1,926 bouts from ringside. Nevada’s Cheatham has judged 686 bouts, making him the least experienced of the trio but someone who is also qualified for this high-profile assignment.

Why? Because experience matters, not just in the big fights, but all fights. Whoever wins and whoever loses in the main event this weekend won’t have to worry about paying the electric bill next month. Some four-round kid with a losing record who just outboxed a hot prospect but fell victim to a lousy decision may have those concerns. So the three judges at ringside have the most important job at Allegiant Stadium because odds are that this one is going the distance.

Yes, Alvarez is the bigger man on paper, and he may try to impose his will on Crawford, but he’s never been a one-punch knockout artist. Crawford has shown the ability to stop good opponents over the years but his power might not affect a 168-pounder. Not to mention that both possess steel chins. Of course, anything can happen, but probably not on this night in Vegas.

This makes judging the collective fourth man in the ring, joining Alvarez, Crawford and referee Thomas Taylor. And in a fight where the style each combatant utilizes may be interpreted in three different ways, all eyes will be on Weisfeld, Cheatham and De Luca.

Luckily, given the experience of the three men at ringside, they likely won’t be taken in by the big fight atmosphere. Or will they? There will be more than 60,000 in attendance by the time the first bell rings. And while I know Crawford’s Nebraska contingent will be loud and proud in support of “Bud,” they will be drowned out by tens of thousands cheering Canelo on during Mexican Independence Day weekend.

That’s a fact. And with every punch Alvarez lands, the stadium will erupt. Crawford won’t get that type of response unless he delivers something spectacular. And to do something spectacular, he will have to fight a Terence Crawford fight. But fighting the way he did on the way up the division ladder may be the worst course of action if Alvarez is the bigger and stronger man on fight night.

If that’s the case, Crawford will have to lean on his boxing ability and put his fighting ability in his back pocket. Crawford is as versatile as they come, and he can outbox anyone over 12 rounds if he so chooses. More often than not, he doesn’t choose to do that. Crawford is a fighter, and he likes to scrap, and if you give him that kind of look, he’ll take it and run with it. Before his career-best win over Errol Spence, I was asked how I saw the fight. I said Spence is a sniper, while Crawford is Tony Montana at the end of Scarface. I stick by that description when Crawford fights the way he wants to.

I don’t think he’ll fight that way against Alvarez, and it may cost him if he sits back, uses his jab and counterpunching ability and boxes for 12 rounds. It’s a smart strategy, but it’s one that may not be rewarded by the judges, because even if it isn’t the old days in Vegas, aggressive fighters will still leave the better impression. And odds are that Canelo will try to push the pace and bully Crawford. And pile up the rounds in the process.

At least that’s the conventional wisdom. And while the three judges have been favorable to Alvarez and his usual style in the past, Weisfeld also saw the good boxing work and ring generalship turned in by Crawford in his win over Israil Madrimov last summer. That’s the kind of style Crawford may have to utilize again to get the W against Alvarez. And he’s not the only judge who appreciates the finer points of the game, as the trio all awarded Richardson Hitchins a 2024 win over Gustavo Daniel Lemos that many believed the latter should have won because of his aggressiveness.

In recent action, Cheatham, De Luca and Weisfeld worked together to score July’s bout between Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios a draw. Controversial, yes, but also explainable. And that’s the thing with these three judges. Have they turned in some cards that leave fans shaking their heads? Absolutely. But more often than not, they’ve scored fights where you're focused on the end result and not how it was scored. It’s the same criteria used to judge a good referee. If you don’t know he’s in there, that’s a good thing. And hopefully, the story this weekend won’t be about the officials, but about the fighters.

Of course, in a big fight, everything is magnified and analyzed, so if Canelo is given a round where he moved forward but didn’t land any punches of note, that will be a point of contention. The same goes if Crawford boxes brilliantly, makes Canelo miss, but doesn’t throw enough, leading the judges to give the round to the Mexican star. Styles make fights in the ring, and that’s never been truer than with Canelo vs. Crawford. I would say styles make fights in the way the judges see things, and that’s unfortunately the way things could be in a sport that is so subjective.

This isn’t a football game where the team with the most points at the end of four quarters wins. And while we’ve seen Cheatham, De Luca and Weisfeld score fights for the “slugger,” we’ve also seen them score for the “boxer.”

Hopefully, on Saturday, they score for the man who deserves to win the fight.