Comments Thread For: Six steps to a boxing utopia (Part III)

[BoxingUpdates]

In Part III, the always topical subject of controversial scorecards is addressed as we attempt to plot our way to a boxing utopia
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[JeBron Lamez]

No duh.

[SteveM]

there is corruption in almost every other walk of life - why not boxing?

Comps for refs and judges can include: repeat assignments, complimentary vacations/meals/flights, money paid into offshore bank accounts owned by a shell company or a relative, expensive presents which are easy to sell later; ***elry, watches. So it goes on.

[PNUT901]

For boxing to grow , this is a must. In some fights and rounds , reasonable people can disagree , but it seems like every weekend, in almost every fight , there's at least one judges scorecard that is completely out of line with reality. The judges that turn in those kinds of cards need to explain themselves , and punished by not getting work.

[GIT]

It would be a good start if state boxing commissions refused to accept recommendations of judges from the sanctioning bodies. It’s no secret that sanctioning organizations favor certain boxers over others for a variety of reasons. And, when an organization’s preferred boxer is scheduled for a bout, the sanctioning body begins to push its list of approved judges. The problem, of course, is that certain unrecognizable judges on that list are suspected of having pre-determined scorecards. They show up for the contest, turn in abominable scorecards, and disappear without accountability. Such decisions defile the nobility of the boxers who sacrifice so much only to be cheated out of a fair decision. When that happens, the **** flows downhill — the fans lose interest in an unreliable playing field, and the once popular sport continues to move to the outer fringes of acceptance.

[Plick647]

this is absolutely nothing new.

[TheOneAboveAll]

Stop this Utopia series. Every part thus far has been drivel with not a single solution posed yet. Anybody who has watched boxing for more than six months should understand that the major culprit of bad decisions isn't corruption or judge incompetence (yes, both exist), but rather the absurd, nonsensical scoring system and the competing scoring criteria. There are many threads on this forum that discuss this issue at length. No matter how many judges are removed from the system, there will continue to be as many controversial decisions and the accompanying claims of robbery and corruption as ever unless the scoring system is changed. Get rid of Defense, Ring Generalship and 'Effective' Aggression (all of which are incidental to clean, hard punching) as scoring criteria and leave only Clean, Hard Punching and you will fix 80% of the problem. Another 10-15% of the problem can be fixed by modifying the 10-pt must system and embracing even round scoring.

[DeeMoney]

Stop this Utopia series. Every part thus far has been drivel with not a single solution posed yet. Anybody who has watched boxing for more than six months should understand that the major culprit of bad decisions isn't corruption or judge incompetence (yes, both exist), but rather the absurd, nonsensical scoring system and the competing scoring criteria. There are many threads on this forum that discuss this issue at length. No matter how many judges are removed from the system, there will continue to be as many controversial decisions and the accompanying claims of robbery and corruption as ever unless the scoring system is changed. Get rid of Defense, Ring Generalship and 'Effective' Aggression (all of which are incidental to clean, hard punching) as scoring criteria and leave only Clean, Hard Punching and you will fix 80% of the problem. Another 10-15% of the problem can be fixed by modifying the 10-pt must system and embracing even round scoring.

Can not like this enough, I feel as if you are reading my thoughts.

Boxing has this convoluted scoring system which allows professional boxing people to feign this esoteric superiority. Fix it how you wrote above and things will be a lot better.

Problem is, that will harm those in the pro boxing industrial complex. Judges don't want this, because then it exposes them as not needing a superior boxing acumen to do their job. Additionally, those who certify, train, and regulate judges become less needed. There is a lot of money to be made in bureaucracy, and the bureaucracy will always defend its necessity.

Moreover, if there is any sort of corruption with house fighters and big names being gifted decisions, this asinine scoring system provides those in power with a viable means to implement said corruption. You can always have a judge claim that they felt the house fighter 'was the ring general' in a given round, or that the less favored fighter 'wasn't really effective with their aggression'. Its teflon to score however you want.

[r.burgundy]

Putting canelo\ggg with the all time great robberies then wondering why judges are incompetent is pretty funny lol

[THC]

Stop this Utopia series. Every part thus far has been drivel with not a single solution posed yet.

Harsh. But I agree.

The series does not address the FUNDAMENTAL cause of the mess that is pro boxing: promoters of individual boxers control/manipulate who fights who. Every rotten symptom, such as corrupt judges, multiple "champs" per weight class not fighting each other, inconsistent PED testing and punishment, a scoring system ripe for abuse... all these stem from the sport not having a governing body (more specifically a fighter's union) whose prime directive is the betterment of the sport in terms of legitimacy and profit.

A fighter's union would only make the best fights for maximum revenue. e.g. Canelo vs Benavidez brings more money than Canelo vr Ryder. And it would ALLOW promoters to bid on fights as events, like any other major sport.