By Keith Idec
Adalaide Byrd’s boss won’t abandon the veteran judge based on the instantly infamous scorecard she submitted Saturday night.
Bob Bennett, the executive director for the Nevada State Athletic Commission told the Los Angeles Times for Monday’s editions that Nevada’s Byrd won’t work another fight soon, but that she’ll remain a judge for fights in that state. Bennett acknowledged during the post-fight press conference Saturday night that Byrd’s scoring of the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin middleweight title fight was off.
He also defended Byrd as a competent judge who has worked 115 world title fights during her long career.
The two other judges assigned to the Alvarez-Golovkin pay-per-view fight submitted scorecards much more reflective of the competitive fight that took place at T-Mobile Arena. Nevada’s Dave Moretti scored Golovkin a 115-113 winner and Connecticut’s Don Trella scored it even (114-114).
“I’m not going to put her right back in,” Bennett told the Los Angeles Times. “She’s still in the business … but she needs to catch her breath.”
The NSAC’s assignment of Byrd to the Alvarez-Golovkin fight on September 11 caused concern among media and fans because Byrd has a reputation for being inconsistent. She has at times scored fights wider than the other two judges working those bouts with her, though she usually has scored those fights for the boxer that deserved to win.
She scored Mexico’s Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) the winner of 10 of the 12 rounds against Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs).
“Like in any profession, you have a bad night,” Bennett said. “Unfortunately, she didn’t do well. I can tell you she conducts training for us, takes judges under her wing. … But her score was too wide.”
Regardless, it doesn’t appear as though Saturday’s controversy will prevent Byrd from continuing to judge title fights.
One of her former colleagues, C.J. Ross, was basically banished by the NSAC after she scored the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Canelo Alvarez fight a draw four years ago. Mayweather won that fight decisively in September 2013 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, despite that Ross scored it even (114-114).
Ross also scored Timothy Bradley a 115-113 winner over Manny Pacquiao in June 2012 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, as did Duane Ford. Bradley’s split-decision win against Pacquiao is generally regarded as one of the most poorly scored fights in boxing history.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
