LAS VEGAS -- Referee Robert Byrd, assigned three weeks ago to officiate the welterweight fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. on Saturday at the MGM Grand, has been removed from the assignment because of a medical issue, Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said Thursday.
"Robert is medically unavailable," Bennett told ESPN.com. "We expect him back soon. It's nothing life-threatening, and we wish him well."
Tony Weeks, originally assigned to referee the co-featured fight between super middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham and Gilberto Ramirez, will replace Byrd in the main event.
Kenny Bayless, who had been assigned to the featherweight bout between Oscar Valdez and former titleholder Evgeny Gradovich, will referee Abraham-Ramirez.
The moves, initially reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, were made late Wednesday.