Comments Thread For: How Fury-Wallin Was Influenced By ESPN's Intrusion

[_Rexy_]

If they made a new rule where the commission can watch slow motion replays and overrule the ref's decision then they need to inform both the ref and both corners.

Do they do this chit in any other sport?

Could you imagine in baseball or basketball them overrulling the ref, making a new call and not informing the ref or either team but everyone just finds out at the end of the game the ruling?

Why is boxing this ass backwards.

"Cong**** on the game, boys! But turns out we ruled one of your touchdowns as out of bounds so you actually LOST the Super Bowl..."

[kafkod]

all you need to do in order to determine if this was right or wrong is ask yourself one question:

Had it been Wallin who got cut, would ESPN still have taken such a keen interest in what information the corner had?

I'm guessing they would have not.....

If Wallin had been ahead on points, and the ESPN team knew for a fact that his corner had been given incorrect info on the commission's ruling by the ref, then who's to say they wouldn't have done the same thing for them?

[kafkod]

]If they made a new rule where the commission can watch slow motion replays and overrule the ref's decision then they need to inform both the ref and both corners.[/B]

Do they do this chit in any other sport?

Could you imagine in baseball or basketball them overrulling the ref, making a new call and not informing the ref or either team but everyone just finds out at the end of the game the ruling?

Why is boxing this ass backwards.

Was there a new rule introduced, or did the ref just jump the gun by giving Fury's corner incorrect info without waiting for the commission to look at the slo mo replay?

[Boxingfanatic75]

Did the commission tell Tony Weeks to relay incorrect information to Fury's corner?

One of the ESPN team went over to the commission and asked them what the correct ruling was.

The commission gave ESPN that info.

Did they also tell them not to pass it on to to Fury's corner?

Did ESPN tell Wallin’s corner how the ruling was? Wallin was informed by his corner that it was a punch but the ref ruled it a headbutt so as far as the fighters knew it was a headbutt. Would Wallin too had fought differently had he known it was a punch? The bottom line is ESPN told Fury’s corner and not also Wallin that ASSUMED it was a punch with no official information. It IS NOT the job of a network to relay ANY information to a corner unless of course it’s to protect an investment

[kafkod]

Did ESPN tell Wallin’s corner how the ruling was? Wallin was informed by his corner that it was a punch but the ref ruled it a headbutt so as far as the fighters knew it was a headbutt. Would Wallin too had fought differently had he known it was a punch? The bottom line is ESPN told Fury’s corner and not also Wallin that ASSUMED it was a punch with no official information. It IS NOT the job of a network to relay ANY information to a corner unless of course it’s to protect an investment

Did the ESPN team hear the ref passing on incorrect info to Wallin's trainer?

Did Wallin's trainer confirm to them that he believed the false info to be correct, like Ben Davidson did?

Why are you assuming that the correct ruling was not also relayed to Wallin's corner, as soon as the commission was told by ESPN that the ref had got it wrong?

Not that it would have made any difference to them anyway, as Wallin was clearly behind on points from the first round onwards and if the ruling had been "accidental foul" they would have lost whether the fight was stopped or not.

The ESPN team became aware that Fury's corner had been given incorrect info which could have led to them pulling Fury out and forfeiting the fight. They did the right thing by informing the commission and Davidson about it ASAP.

And btw, the ESPN commentators have no money invested in Fury. He is Bob Arum's investment, not theirs. They are just ESPN employees doing a paid job

[Boxingfanatic75]

Did the ESPN team hear the ref passing on incorrect info to Wallin's trainer?

Did Wallin's trainer confirm to them that he believed the false info to be correct, like Ben Davidson did?

Why are you assuming that the correct ruling was not also relayed to Wallin's corner, as soon as the commission was told by ESPN that the ref had got it wrong?

Not that it would have made any difference to them anyway, as Wallin was clearly behind on points from the first round onwards and if the ruling had been "accidental foul" they would have lost whether the fight was stopped or not.

The ESPN team became aware that Fury's corner had been given incorrect info which could have led to them pulling Fury out and forfeiting the fight. They did the right thing by informing the commission and Davidson about it ASAP.

And btw, the ESPN commentators have no money invested in Fury. He is Bob Arum's investment, not theirs. They are just ESPN employees doing a paid job

The network ESPN pays Bob Arum and their fighter (in this case Fury) millions. Fury as well as Arum is ESPN’s investment. The commentators ESPN has hired is in line with corporate to ensure their investment is advertised and promoted in line with Arum. This is completely obvious each and every fight Fury has had thus far with ESPN. If you had not noticed then your ears are not open or you haven’t watched boxing for very long.

There is a reason the term “house fighter” was developed. It doesn’t matter the network really. Like before this deal, all networks (ESPN, Showtime, former HBO, Fox) ALL promote the investment they’ve made with the promoter and the fighter. As such all fights on those networks have “homers.” This is known and has been known for decades. All commentators they hire follow the company line or are found other positions.

As to your other points the article clearly explains what took place and clearly indicates who ESPN informed. Folks defending what took place speak from ignorance (not knowing) or have little knowledge of the history of boxing. In my 36 years of enjoying the sport I’ve never seen a network notify a fighter’s corner of misinformation; NEVER. If there was a disagreement between the ref and the commission then that of course needs to be settled. However, it is also up to the corner to VERIFY the ruling. If it is known that the commission has the final say then the corner has the ultimate responsibility to verify. As a once great man once said, “trust but verify” and that applies to everything in life.

[Boxingfanatic75]

Was there a new rule introduced, or did the ref just jump the gun by giving Fury's corner incorrect info without waiting for the commission to look at the slo mo replay?

Refs do not wait for a commission ruling when in the ring. Refs make the decision right there and then. A ref doesn’t wait on the commission for a point deduction, a low blow warning, a knockdown or a fight stoppage during the fight. If during the course of the fight it is found by the commission an accidental clash of heads was actually a thrown punch then of course the ref should be notified and then in turn the corners. However since it is known the commission is the final ruling on such matters and where there is lack of clarity it is the corner’s (or promoter’s) responsibility as well to verify the refs ruling through the commission. During fights promoter’s henchmen work judges as well as commissions. They’ve done this since promoter’s were introduced and its never changed. Of course it shouldn’t be allowed but this is how “House fighters” obtain favorable decisions and rulings. They should have verified the ruling with the commission and not just went off the ref ruling.

Bottom line ESPN was way out of line for completely jumping out of its lane in notifying the corner of their “house fighter.”

[kafkod]

The network ESPN pays Bob Arum and their fighter (in this case Fury) millions. Fury as well as Arum is ESPN’s investment. The commentators ESPN has hired is in line with corporate to ensure their investment is advertised and promoted in line with Arum. This is completely obvious each and every fight Fury has had thus far with ESPN. If you had not noticed then your ears are not open or you haven’t watched boxing for very long.

There is a reason the term “house fighter” was developed. It doesn’t matter the network really. Like before this deal, all networks (ESPN, Showtime, former HBO, Fox) ALL promote the investment they’ve made with the promoter and the fighter. As such all fights on those networks have “homers.” This is known and has been known for decades. All commentators they hire follow the company line or are found other positions.

As to your other points the article clearly explains what took place and clearly indicates who ESPN informed. Folks defending what took place speak from ignorance (not knowing) or have little knowledge of the history of boxing. In my 36 years of enjoying the sport I’ve never seen a network notify a fighter’s corner of misinformation; NEVER. If there was a disagreement between the ref and the commission then that of course needs to be settled. However, it is also up to the corner to VERIFY the ruling. If it is known that the commission has the final say then the corner has the ultimate responsibility to verify. As a once great man once said, “trust but verify” and that applies to everything in life.

Fair enough. But have you ever seen a referee relay incorrect information to an injured fighter's corner about the commission's ruling on the cause of that injury?

The ESPN team heard Weeks telling Ben Davidson that the cause of Fury's injury had been ruled as an accidental foul.

They knew for a fact that the injury had actually been caused by a legal punch, because they saw that clearly in the slo mo replay footage they were commenting on, as part of the job they were being payed to do.

They also knew that the commission's ruling was based on the same footage that they were looking at and commenting on for the benefit of viewers like us, which clearly showed Fury's eye being cut by a legal punch.

You could say that, technically, it wasn't their job to wonder wtf was going on and take steps to find out, but I disagree with that, because their job is to keep viewers like us informed about wtf is going on. And personally, I was just as confused as they were at that point, because I had also heard Weeks giving Fury's corner information which I knew to be incorrect.

The ESPN team were also doing their job by interviewing Davidson during the fight, and I would say they had a moral duty to put him straight when they found out he was working with incorrect information given to him by an incompetent referee.

[kafkod]

Refs do not wait for a commission ruling when in the ring. Refs make the decision right there and then.

If the ref's decision can be over-ruled by a commission working from slo mo replay footage - which it can - then the decision is not being made by the ref, it is made by the commission.

Weeks either misunderstood the commission's ruling or wasn't even aware that he did not have the authority to make that ruling himself.

I said this after the Ward/Kovalev rematch and I'll say it again now ... Tony Weeks is not fit to referee a kid's pillow fight, let alone world class boxing. It's his gross incompetence you should be complaining about, not the commentators.

[LoadedWraps]

The boxer with the cut should absolutely know anyway. Fury should have been informed at the earliest time by the panel who made the decision (rightly so) to declare it a punch. Then a boxer can decide to go for broke or not. This needs to be enforced now into boxing.

Well said. Good post.