ARTICLE FROM JUST LAST WEEK SAYS IT ALL!
Judge Judy Can’t Beleive It!
DOES BOXING NEED JUDGE JUDY OF TV FAME?
Glasgow, Scotland– During recent weeks, bad decisions have made boxing as legitimate as the claim that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman in Dealey Plaza when JFK was assassinated 50 years ago next month. First up was WBO lightweight (135 lb.) champion, Ricky Burns escaping the SECC Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, with a Draw 12 against Ray Beltran of Puerto Rico a month or so ago.
BURNS’ PROMOTER EDDIE HEARN SAID HE LOST!
The evidence of a defeat for Burns was so overwhelming to the point that his promoter Eddie Hearn suggested his fighter should have left the arena with another loss printed onto his record. It’s very rare for a fighter’s promoter to be so honest and accept what he’d just witnessed, whereas he could easily side with the official who scored the contest for his own man. That official was Carlos Ortiz Jr, who scored the fight 115-112 in favor of the champion. That equates to 8 rounds for Burns; 4 rounds for Beltran, with Burns getting a point taken off for being knocked down during the 8th.
RIGHT GUY WON AT LEAST THIS TIME
Floyd Mayweather seemed to outbox Saul Alvarez to the extent of pitching a near shut-out. However, judge CJ Ross managed to score the fight even 114-114, leaving Mayweather a majority decision win. In the days following the fight, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Keith Kizer jumped to the defense of Ross like she did nothing wrong. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has weighed in on Ross, as he too was appalled and says he will hold Kizer responsible from now on. Most ringside observers in attendance were hard pressed to give Alvarez anymore than three rounds. How Ross managed to double that number is a mystery.
SCORING A FIGHT IS NOT ALL THAT DIFFICULT!
So what’s wrong? Why are some judges coming up with scorecards as far apart as the width of the Niagara Falls? They’re all seeing the same picture, but from three different viewpoints. Why aren’t all judges singing from the same hymn sheet when the strongest emphasis being “Clean Punching” in scoring a fight. Also, some jurists are impressed with quantity, others quality. “Effective Aggressiveness” has been scrapped as one of the four areas of scoring (that includes Defense and Ring Generalship). No need for the last three. Why? Because, “Clean Punching” covers it all. Think about it this way, to be effective while being aggressive, you need to be landing clean punches anyway.
AGGRESSIVENESS NOT BEING LOOKED AT CORRECTLY
And the word, “Aggressiveness,” is getting into the minds of some judges in a rather false manner. It simply favors a certain style of fighter, an aggressive one.
LOOK AT ANDRE WARD’S CLOSE BUT DOMINANT WIN OVER FROCH
Andre Ward-Carl Froch: Two judges scored this fight 115-113 for Ward. Those two judges who managed to somehow give Froch five rounds did so on him pressing the fight and being aggressive, even though that aggression was extremely ineffective. Ward beat Froch in every department you care to mention. 118-112 was a more realistic conclusion.
GOING BACK TO THE ALAMO DOME
A generation ago, Pernell Whitaker seemed to out-box and out-punch Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. thoroughly over the course of the 12 rounds, for the WBC welterweight (147) title. British judge Mickey Vann, who incredibly scored the fight a draw – was asked what he saw that others might not have. His answer? “Attack, that’s what Chavez did, attack!” It’s quite obvious that everyone inside the San Antonio stadium saw that Chavez was attacking. But effectiveness – for the most part – wasn’t coming with it at the same time.
SO, WHY IS THERE BAD SCORING IN BOXING?
Look, non-effective aggression counts when it shouldn’t. When Vann’s scoring was questioned the only word he could come up with to defend himself was, “Attack,” which is another way of saying, “Chavez was aggressive.” Vann, now 70 and still active never cared to elaborate further on the quality of Chavez’s attacking, because he knew it was a poor standard.
CHAVEZ-VERA SCORING: SEX TRADE MORE HONEST THAN BOXING?
Pedro Fernandez wrote this earlier in the week on the Brian Vera-Julio Cesar Chavez fight and scoring. Click on the following link: http://ringtalk.com/sex-boxing-julio-cesar-chavez-jr-brian-vera-eddie-hearn-bob-arum
Robbi Paterson