Fans Look to Petition Texas Commission for Judging Reform; Fan’s Reaction

By Paul Magno on Yahoo: For some fans, the tipping point in their outrage at Texas' controversial boxing commission came last Saturday when Carlos Molina, seemingly en route to an upset victory over James Kirkland at Reliant Arena in Houston, found himself disqualified over a technicality. The frustrating ending to a compelling battle highlighted The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the absolutely horrid job they've done in handling main stage fights in their state. Anthony Gagliardo, hardcore fight fan, reached his boiling point following the Molina DQ when it was revealed that Molina, who was clearly winning the fight, was actually one point down on judge, Gale Van Hoy's tally. The anger and frustration pushed Gagliardo to draft a petition with the online service, Change.org. "Bad judging is a disgrace and embarrassment to the sport, " the petition states. "It can completely change a fighter's career and life, as well as turn fans away from the sport. No boxer should have their hard work thrown out and their life altered due to a poor judging decision." Gagliardo hopes to present a 3,000 signature petition to the state commission as a concrete representation of boxing fans' disdain for the poor decisions plaguing the sport. He also hopes that it will serve as a subconscious reminder that these officials are, indeed, being watched. In Texas, questionable judging is just one part of their overall bungling of duties. However, it is the most blatant and obvious byproduct of their general ineptitude. Starting with Juan Diaz's horrid 2009 unanimous decision victory over Paulie Malignaggi, the Texas commission and judge Gale Van Hoy, specifically, have come under real scrutiny. Van Hoy's 118-110 score for Diaz is still widely regarded as one of the sport's worst scoring decisions. Although the recently-drafted petition only has seventy-one signatures as of this writing, the sentiment and widespread frustration is evident everywhere boxing fans gather to talk about the current state of the sport. Of course, Texas is not the only state that has delivered horrible judges' decisions. Fights fans can typically rattle off a laundry list of awful decisions that have tested their loyalty to the sport. Among the worst in very recent memory are: Paul Williams' majority decision over Erislandy Lara, Robert Helenius' unanimous decision over Dereck Chisora, and Tavoris Cloud's split decision over Gabriel Campillo. Sadly, there are too many more to mention. Bad decisions, always suspiciously favoring the money fighter, plague boxing and make things even worse for a sport that is struggling to stay relevant in the minds of mainstream American sports fans. With people increasingly frustrated over a sport that refuses to regulate itself or control its darker urges, fans like Gagliardo do what they can— cling to social media, message boards, and in this case, online petitions, to somehow, someway try to restore some sanity. If you'd like to sign the petition to make your voice heard in an official manner, click the following link: http://www.change.org/petitions/texas-department-of-licensing-and-regulation-punish-boxing-judge-s-with-scorecards-that-are-poorly-scored-or-inaccurate Good news!