HBO's Lederman Says TV Viewpoint Isn't The Best For Judging

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

It’s perpetual grist for the 140-character mill.

Regardless of the fighters involved, the titles up for grabs or the networks doing the broadcasts, a near certainty about a Saturday is that someone on social media is going to be griping about a scorecard.

It was no different this past weekend, when -- in spite of Ruslan Provodnikov’s concession that he’d been fairly and squarely beaten by John Molina Jr. -- there were those who nevertheless took to Twitter to insist that the “Siberian Rocky” had gotten the short end of the judging stick.

“Wow Provodnikov just got robbed,” chimed one user from the Midwest, while another with West Coast leanings suggested a similar theme by tweeting “Another fight @RuslanProvod got robbed. Jabs BS Provodnikov is a warrior.”

Incidentally, the officials at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino gave Molina nine, eight and seven of 12 rounds across three ringside tallies. And newly-minted Hall of Famer Harold Lederman said, when it comes to properly judging fights, it’s all about the vantage point and perspective.

“It’s a lot different. At ringside you get a three-dimensional view,” he said.

“You can see basically almost anywhere, unless the guy’s in the opposite corner from you up against the ropes and you’re looking at the back of the aggressor and you can’t see the punches. It’s much, much easier to judge a fight when you’re there, when your ringside, when you’re right on the apron. Ideally, you should have a seat that’s a little raised so your eyesight is above the first strand of rope.

“It’s much more difficult at home because of the fact you only get that one-dimensional view. All you can see is what the director is putting on the screen.”

Even when he’s doing an HBO fight, Lederman eschews watching the action on a monitor.

“I watch it live,” he said.

“You get that three-dimensional view so you’re see the fight really the way it is.”

The 76-year-old New Yorker began judging professional fights in 1967 and became part of the HBO announce team in 1986, debuting in March of that year with the WBC heavyweight title match between Pinklon Thomas and Trevor Berbick.

He gave up his full-time judging gig in 1999 and recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the network, a milestone that coincided with his Canastota induction over the weekend.

But of all the fights he’s scored, Lederman suggested it’s one – the 1976 rubber match between Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton – that people most often want to discuss. Lederman and fellow ringsider Barney Smith gave Ali eight of 15 rounds, and referee Arthur Mercante made it unanimous with an 8-6-1 card in favor of the champion.

Norton and others long contended he was robbed, but Lederman disagrees.

“Very close. Very controversial,” he said.

“A lot of people who were sitting back from the ring thought that Norton won the fight. I thought that Ali outboxed him in eight of the rounds and that’s the way I scored it.”

And even if looked back and thought he was wrong, Lederman kiddingly insists that he’d never admit it.

“No. Never. I’m always right,” he said. “If I don’t agree with the judges, I say to myself, ‘They’re wrong, I’m right.’ That’s how I feel about it. I also feel like your first score is your best score.

“If you’re scoring a fight, don’t go home and watch it on TV and say, ‘Well, I scored Round 7 differently on TV.’ No. Your best score is your first score, all the time. I don’t know why but that’s just the way it is. If you score it again, deep down in your mind you’ll know how it came out and that influences your thinking.”

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This week's title-fight schedule:

FRIDAY
IBF mini flyweight title -- Tepic, Mexico
Jose Argumedo (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Julio Mendoza (No. 14 IBF/No. 20 IWBR)
Argumedo (17-3-1, 10 KO): First title defense; Unbeaten in scheduled 12-rounders (4-0, 2 KO)
Mendoza (11-4, 3 KO): First title fight; Second fight outside Nicaragua (0-1)
Fitzbitz says: Argumedo has done more in title-length fights and has performed far better against foes at or near what’s considered world class. That should be more than enough here. Argumedo in 5

SATURDAY
IBO/WBA bantamweight titles -- Chicago, Illinois
Juan Carlos Payano (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Rau'shee Warren (No. 12 WBA/No. 68 IWBR)
Payano (17-0, 8 KO): Second WBA title defense; Defeated Warren (SD 12) to win IBO title
Warren (13-1, 4 KO): Second title fight (0-1); Second scheduled 12-round bout (0-1)
Fitzbitz says: The scorecards veered wildly when they met 10 months ago and neither has fought since. The vibe here is that Warren has more room for improvement in the rematch. Warren by decision

Last week’s picks: 2-1 (WIN: Flores, Lomachenko; LOSS: Siyo)
2016 picks record: 44-10 (81.4 percent)
Overall picks record: 776-258 (75.0 percent)
 
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.