Tweet
The decision in the fight between Rances Barthelemy and Arash Usmanee outraged many fight fans. I missed the bout when it first aired. When I came home that night and went to Boxingscene, there were several threads proclaiming "robbery". It was so bad in here that I fully expected it to be just that. The same night, I went to ESPN.com and watched the replay, scoring the bout round-by-round and taking light notes. In the end, I was quite surprised at my scorecard:
1. Barthelemy (Clear.)
2. Barthelemy (Clear.)
3. Barthelemy (Very close round. Usmanee beginning to adapt and turn the tide.)
4. Usmanee (Another close round. This time I gave it to Arash, who now took over for the next few rounds.)
5. Usmanee (Even better round for Arash.)
6. Usmanee (Best round so far for Arash. He's really in the driver's seat now.)
7. Usmanee (Clear.)
8. Usmanee (Clear.)
9. Barthelemy (Close round. Rances appears to be catching a second wind.)
10. Barthelemy (Clear. Amazingly, Rances is back in it.)
11. Barthelemy (Close round, but I think Rances did just enough. In retrospect, he emptied the tank. Neither fighter is going away easily.)
12. Usmanee (My only 10-8 round of the fight. No question here in anyone's mind. Arash almost took the fight out of the judges hands. As it turns out, he probably should have.)
114-113 Arash Usmanee
This was really a terrific fight, with great heart shown by both men. Too bad there could only be one winner. And too bad the wrong guy got the nod (in my opinion). It's interesting to note that Arash won the fight on my card because of his one-sided twelfth round. Had I seen it as a 10-9 round, I would've scored the fight a draw. There were, in my view, four close rounds that could've gone for either fighter. Nonetheless, despite my tight score, I regarded the fight a clear win for Usmanee. I will add that I believe it's possible for a competent judge to award the fight for Barthelemy, but by a razor-thin margin. A draw would've been inoffensive. The two 116-112 scores for Rances were horrible, just inexplicable. Strangely enough, Teddy's scorecard was at least as bad as the judges', but in the other direction!
Barthelemy was very active during this fight, but Usmanee was even more so. Arash's activity perhaps had the appearance of being more effective because, whenever he threw punches, they caught some part of Rances's anatomy -- gloves and elbows, mostly. Barthelemy was more accurate, but whenever he missed, he missed bad, swatting at air. Much of the viewing audience probably gave Usmanee credit for activity that wasn't legitimately scoring. Atlas may have been affected, too, as he was surely distracted by multiple issues during the bout, even conducting an interview with the fight in progress. Unfortunately, Teddy's misguided commentary further affected the perception of the viewers.
1. Barthelemy (Clear.)
2. Barthelemy (Clear.)
3. Barthelemy (Very close round. Usmanee beginning to adapt and turn the tide.)
4. Usmanee (Another close round. This time I gave it to Arash, who now took over for the next few rounds.)
5. Usmanee (Even better round for Arash.)
6. Usmanee (Best round so far for Arash. He's really in the driver's seat now.)
7. Usmanee (Clear.)
8. Usmanee (Clear.)
9. Barthelemy (Close round. Rances appears to be catching a second wind.)
10. Barthelemy (Clear. Amazingly, Rances is back in it.)
11. Barthelemy (Close round, but I think Rances did just enough. In retrospect, he emptied the tank. Neither fighter is going away easily.)
12. Usmanee (My only 10-8 round of the fight. No question here in anyone's mind. Arash almost took the fight out of the judges hands. As it turns out, he probably should have.)
114-113 Arash Usmanee
This was really a terrific fight, with great heart shown by both men. Too bad there could only be one winner. And too bad the wrong guy got the nod (in my opinion). It's interesting to note that Arash won the fight on my card because of his one-sided twelfth round. Had I seen it as a 10-9 round, I would've scored the fight a draw. There were, in my view, four close rounds that could've gone for either fighter. Nonetheless, despite my tight score, I regarded the fight a clear win for Usmanee. I will add that I believe it's possible for a competent judge to award the fight for Barthelemy, but by a razor-thin margin. A draw would've been inoffensive. The two 116-112 scores for Rances were horrible, just inexplicable. Strangely enough, Teddy's scorecard was at least as bad as the judges', but in the other direction!
Barthelemy was very active during this fight, but Usmanee was even more so. Arash's activity perhaps had the appearance of being more effective because, whenever he threw punches, they caught some part of Rances's anatomy -- gloves and elbows, mostly. Barthelemy was more accurate, but whenever he missed, he missed bad, swatting at air. Much of the viewing audience probably gave Usmanee credit for activity that wasn't legitimately scoring. Atlas may have been affected, too, as he was surely distracted by multiple issues during the bout, even conducting an interview with the fight in progress. Unfortunately, Teddy's misguided commentary further affected the perception of the viewers.
Comment