BY: Rota Em

When fighters step into the ring, they are assuming that they will receive a fair fight. There are judges, referees, medical personnel, sanctioning bodies, and commissions set in place to make sure anything that can be seen before-hand is addressed so nothing should go wrong. 

But what about the decisions from the panel of judges? Is there no check and balance for the almighty deciding body?

When a judge, or judges, make the wrong call is there anything that can be done to rectify it?

I can understand the scrutiny that comes with the ability to attest fight decisions but sometimes it is more than warranted. At the very least, the specific situations that are worthy of a second look should receive just that.

Normally, in the classroom, when we add up an equation incorrectly the teacher has the ability and opportunity to correct us. But what about when a judge adds points incorrectly—why can’t anything be done about it even if it IS after the fact? Fights have been deemed ‘no contests’ when a fighter fails a post-fight drug test so it IS possible to go the other way. If it means that the original decision has to be changed, wouldn’t it be worth it in the face of fairness?

This past weekend at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, we saw another controversial decision go in favor of a hometown hero. Juan Diaz got the nod on all three judges’ scorecards for the unanimous points victory. For that fight, we are not debating the decision to give the win to Diaz, considering how close the fight was and their difference in styles, but what we are questioning is why the scores were so wide. Many people that caught the fight, either live on HBO broadcast or in person, saw exactly what the judges saw so why would there be such a gap for the hometown favorite? If anything, the close decision should’ve been awarded to the visitor, Paulie Malignaggi but one judge even saw Diaz win with the absurd score of 118-110. Aside from Lennox Lewis pronouncing the Magic Man’s name incorrectly (he referred to Paulie as Maggiano), two of the three judges must’ve been tuning into the wrong fight altogether.

Not only did Malignaggi control the pace of the fight, but he kept Diaz at bay with his jabs and swift footwork. After the fight the Magic Man saved no face in addressing the robbery that had just occurred a few minutes prior. Although he did no favors for himself in the manner of his lash out, he did have a right to confront the unfair and unjust treatment.

I am embarrassed to say that I cannot cover all of the bad and controversial decisions that have occurred throughout the history of the sweet science, but we can briefly list off some from recent memory.

Joel Casamayor- Jose Armando Santa Cruz. The scores were 114-113 for Casamayor (twice) and 114-113 for Santa Cruz even after a 10-8 1st round. Ron McNair, Frank Lombardi, and Tony Paolillo held Santa Cruz’s fate in their hands as they gift-wrapped the win for Casamayor who held and back-peddled throughout the entire fight. They even let him open the present in the ring. Even the 114-113 score in favor of Santa Cruz was silly considering he should’ve been well ahead; I saw Casamayor winning only two rounds.

Ricky Hatton-Luis Collazo 115-112 (twice) 114-113 all for Hatton. With the win he takes Collazo’s belt although I agreed with the many fans ringside and at home who felt that the Brit didn’t do enough to take the championship. After a flash knockdown to a back-peddling Collazo, Hatton did not show that he belonged in the welterweight division. After the fight he vacated and went back home to 10 stone (140 lbs). In his next visit to the welters Hatton was smashed by Mayweather.

Mayweather-Castillo 1, April 2002. In his move up to 135-lbs, Mayweather encountered an underestimated Mexican warrior in Castillo. I had Castillo winning rounds 3,5,6,7,8,10,11,12. Mayweather took rounds 1,2,4,and 9. There was a point deduction for Castillo for hitting on a break in the 8th, a round that Castillo won. This gave Mayweather an extra point. A round later Mayweather blatantly threw a punch after the bell in which the ref did not address. In the 10th, however, Mayweather was deducted his own point for a forearm as if it was to make up for the previous non-call. This was also a Castillo round making it 10-8. Early in the championship rounds (11th), Mayweather stood toe-to-toe with Castillo and was outworked as he took punishment downstairs. Knowing that he wasn’t the favorite, Castillo came out blazing in the final round never taking a break and out-hustling Mayweather to the final bell in a round in which he clearly won. HBO’s Harold Lederman scored the bout 115-111 for Castillo to retain his belt. The scores were 116-111 and 115-111 (twice) to give Mayweather the go-ahead nod as he was given a Christmas present in the middle of spring. In their rematch, Floyd was more convincing in his win but, ironically, the scorecards were closer than their first fight. Go figure.

Pernell Whitaker-Luis Ramirez 1988. This was Sweet Pea’s first title shot and the first robbery of his career. He had won 9 of 12 rounds, at the very least, but went on to lose a split decision. He avenged this SD loss with a clear cut UD win a year later. Four years after that, he was mugged again. Read on.

Pernell Whitaker-Julio C. Chavez Sr. 1993– Draw. Whitaker won 9 of 12 rounds, give or take one or two swing rounds. This fight made the front page of Sports Illustrated that same year with a bolded six-letter word (“Robbed”) to accompany the image of Sweet Pea popping Chavez with a stiff right jab. Not only was the Chavez-Taylor fight controversial enough when referee Richard Steele halted a fight in which Taylor was well ahead with two seconds remaining, but to cap it with this draw is just plain unsportsmanlike. Chavez told SI the morning after the fight that he felt “a little beat up.” When the highly partisan Mexican crowd knows that their hero had lost but still got awarded the “w”, then you know you’ve just been robbed in broad daylight. 

Miguel Huerta-Kid Diamond. 114-113 Kid Diamond (twice) and 116-111 Huerta. I had it 116-111 for Huerta who averted damage and successfully countered the Kid. He even scored a knockdown in the 7th. The decision was in no way a fault of the Kid but the crowd showed their opinion when the boo’s rung in during the post-fight interview for him. Huerta, however, was served with standing ovations as he visited all four corners.

De la Hoya-Felix Sturm 115-113 all for the Golden Boy. Similar to the Malignaggi-Diaz fight, Sturm landed more (234 to 188) but unlike that same fight, he did it with a higher percentage (43% to 23%). The back-story of this match was probably the setup for a superfight between De la Hoya and Bernard Hopkins (in which Hopkins KO’s Oscar with one punch). In a post-fight interview, De la Hoya stated that “everything went wrong tonight” although he walked away with Sturm’s belt. I’ll admit that this fight was closer than other controversial decisions but normally the champion gets the nod. AP press scored the fight a draw (114-114) while HBO had Sturm ahead by two points. I had Sturm comfortably ahead by two points as well.

Juanma Marquez-Manny Pacquiao 1—Draw. Burt Clements scored the first round 10-7. There were three knockdowns and Pacquiao had clearly blasted Marquez in the opening round, the natural scoring should’ve been 10-6. The end result for Clement’s card? 113-113. With the normal bickering between close fights aside, this is a simple case of NOT knowing how to add/subtract. In the eyes of many fans, and myself, it is just ridiculous that a simple mathematical error cannot be corrected. It’s not like we’re allowing another round, but we are simply asking for the correct tallies. Much to anyone’s dismay, the score stands and the result is a draw. I had Pacquiao up 113-112, the score that Clements would’ve ended on had he correctly scored the bout.

Rocky Juarez-Chris John—Draw (114-114). At the same venue and state as Saturday’s debacle of a fight score, Juarez battles John to a disputed draw. This was another close fight that was more than deserving of a Chris John win. I had it 116-112.
I know I said I wouldn’t mention controversial decisions from too far in the past but I cannot overlook the “long count” between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship. This fight took place in the mid 1920’s at Soldier Field with a crowd of 100,000 plus. Ring-side spectators recall that it took the champion approximately 15 seconds to get to his feet. The ref, Dave Barry, spent the first couple seconds guiding Dempsey to a neutral corner before administering a brand new count therefore giving Tunney the legendary “long count”.

Another fight that had me barely holding my head on is the Roy Jones Jr daylight robbery at the 88’ Olympics. Park Si Hun, a South Korean, was behind in the eyes of just about every single viewer. A South Korean radio covering the fight even stated that “Hun needed a knockout to win the gold as he was hopelessly behind on points.” Even the referee’s jaw dropped. 

I am awe-struck by the fact that there are no checks and balances for the panel that ultimately decides an athlete’s future. It’s a shame that such a serious offense can go unobserved! For one, after the Diaz fight, Malignaggi hit it dead on when he said that he is now forced to be a “money” fighter—nothing more than a journeyman. And Diaz, well, he’ll be on to bigger and better things.

One first step that all sanctioning bodies can take is to develop some sort of checks and balances. This is a lot to ask for considering there are different rules for different arenas but when it gets to the point where we can’t even correct the wrong score addition for a judge, then what is the use of the panel anyhow? We live in an era where basketball and football officials have had a hand in “nixing” games. Why wouldn’t there be a possibility of boxing judges doing the same? I believe that part of the black eye for boxing is the “no questions asked” attitude. It’s as if they are looking to address the issue ONLY when they need to. But that time has already passed!

The addition of instant replay is great for a number of reasons. And I can only think of positive ones to be quite honest. This is a great step for boxing, now we just have to get judges who actually know the game and can add. That, one would assume, would’ve been the easier problem to rectify.

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BY: Diane Bennett

Diamond Boxing hit the big city of Houston this weekend to take in the Juan Diaz vs Michael Katsidis clash held at the Toyota Center and shown on HBO Boxing After Dark. The weekend got off to a great start with the weigh-in held out side the Toyota Center on Friday. We were all greeted by the Golden Boy himself Oscar De La Hoya. Hitting the scales first was hometown hero Juan Diaz who weighed in at 134.5 Diaz was followed by Katsidis who also came in at 134.5 pounds.

Besides the appearance of De La Hoya the highlight of the weigh-in was the co – featured fight between Houston’s Rocky Juarez and the excitable Jorge Barrios. Barrios who was 5 to 6 pounds over weight a few days prior to the weigh-in needed to hit the scales fully naked and with a little prayer made the 130 pound limit. As for Juarez he needed two tries, on the first attempt we weighed in at 130.5 a half of pound over.  So now it was Juarez turn to lose the draws, the second attempt was successful Juarez was able to trim the half of pound and make the 130 pound mark.

Kudos to De La Hoya who stood around after the weigh-in to take questions from the media and then walked around to sign autographs for the hundred or so fans which gathered around to take in the weigh-in.

Fight night was great as the city of Houston was hosting a major boxing event which it has not done in quit a while. Fans were lining up well prior to the 6 pm start time in anticipation of seeing their hometown hero’s Diaz and Juarez. With many other hometown boxers on the card it was sure to be a feast for the Houstonian boxing fan.

The home town boxers were pitching a shut out going 4 for 4 with Roque Moreno (making his pro debut),Jermell Charlo, Lanard Lane and Crystal Delgado taking the first four bouts. The streak ended when Junior Lightweight Elizar Renteria fought Olvin Mejia to a draw.

No fear Houston got it back on track when up and coming lightweight Hylon Williams scored a unanimous decision victory over Jessie Ortiz. All three judges scored the four round fight the same 40 – 36 for Williams. 

As the stars entered the Arena and the fans started to pack in the Toyota Center the electricity was mounting. As Michael Buffer introduced George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Ron Artist ( Houston Rockets), Dancing With The Stars Mario Lopez and of course Oscar De La Hoya the fans went wild.

CHAVEZ vs LEDESMA  

There was an extra treat for us boxing fans this night as former champion Jesus Chavez now at the age of 35, looking to get back into the title hunt took on Andres Ledesma in a 10 round lightweight bout. It took a while for Chavez to get into gear and then bombs away in the 7^th Chaves clobbered Ledesma on the side of the head with a left hook and dropping him. Ledesma was able to recover and survive the round. However, Chaves was back at him in the 8^th and in the 9^th Chavez completed his mission scoring a TKO victory on a right upper cut at the 42 second mark of the 9^th round.

 

JUAREZ vs BARRIOS

Rocky, Rocky, Rocky the screams for Rocky Juarez never stopped echoing throughout the Toyota Center. And Juarez did not let his fans down in true Rocky Balboa fashion Juarez bloodied and bruised Barrios and at the 2:55 second mark of the 11^th round Juarez gave Barrios a headache connecting with a viscous right to the head, Barrios could not recover and the fight was stopped by the doctor with Barrios tooth hanging out and blood splattered all over him. Early on these two warriors traded shots with Barrios suffering a cut over his right eye in the second round. Barrios delivered several low blows throughout the bout which cost him point deductions in the 3^rd and 9^th rounds. After the point deduction in the 9^th it appeared to excite Barrios who then kicked it up a notch. With Barrios knowing he needed a knock out to win he started to load up on power shots which lead to a classic 10^th round with these two banging on each others heads for all 3 minutes of the round. Finally Juarez was able to conquer Barrios in the 11th and take the WBO Latino Junior Lightweight Title with him. Rocky Juarez dedicated this victory to his grand father who pasted away a year ago.               

DIAZ vs KATSIDIS

This bout was for the IBO Lightweight Championship. Both Diaz and Katsidis were coming off their first losses of their careers. Both fighters desperately needed to win so the stakes were high. In the early going Diaz looked sharp and focused on executing his game plan which called for crisp combinations and avoiding brawling with Katsidis. Diaz did just that taking the lead through the first six rounds, Diaz connected on upper cuts various times throughout the first few rounds. By the time the second round ended Katsidis and his corner had to deal with a nasty cut above his eye. Throughout the bout Katsidis tried to lean on Diaz and bully him, Diaz would not stand for any of that and was able to control the action with his boxing skills. Katsidis however, held tough and was able to capture some of the middle rounds.  Katsidis looked solid in rounds 7 and 8. Diaz arose again in the 9^th and got back to boxing, picking very carefully his moments to open up an Katsidis, it was those quick flurries by Diaz which allowed him to finish strong. This when went to the score cards in the end it was Diaz eking out a split decision victory and capturing the IBO Lightweight Championship. Two judges had it 116- 112 & 115-113 Diaz while judge Glen Hamada scored it 115-113 for Katsidis.

Diamond Boxing scored the fight 116-112 for Diaz.

Post Fight Coverage 

In the post fight dialogue the bruised Katsidis thought he had won however, was prepared for a hometown Diaz decision.

The delighted Diaz in his post fight remarks told the crowd that he was never hurt by Katsidis and had to be well prepared since he did not want Katsidis to put him on his butt in his own hometown.

In the post fight press conference Diaz said he has thankful to Oscar De La Hoya for saving him from the big haired guy getting chuckles from all who gathered in the press room. Both De La Hoya and Diaz will be watching next weeks Casamayer – Marquez fight as the winner being a potential next opponent for Diaz.  De La Hoya also mentioned that they will look to have future bouts in Houston for Juarez and Diaz. 

For full fight photos check out Diamond Boxings Photo Gallery:

http://www.diamondboxing.com/pics.php 

 

 

 

 

 

BY: Diane Bennett

So its September start of Football Season and start of an awesome fight schedule with Juan Diaz facing Michael Katsidis on Saturday September 6^th to get us started. The schedule is strong all the way until the December 6^th De La Hoya - Pacquiao clash. For the full fight schedule check http://www.diamondboxing.com/schedules.php

 

 

We are heading to Houston and will be ringside to bring you the blow by blow coverage of the Diaz – Katsidis brawl and yes this one should be a brawl. Both fighters coming off their only professional defeats are looking to regain their winning ways. We are sticking with our earlier prediction giving this one to Diaz the more established boxer by unanimous decision.

 

 

Hall of Fame News

The World Boxing Hall of Fame has elected its 2008 inductee class which includes Lennox Lewis, Pernell Whitaker, Marvin Johnson and Greg Haugan. The hall plans to induct these greats on November 15^th at its 29^th Annual Banquet of Champions which will be held at the Los Angeles Marriott for more information check www.wbhf.org.  

BY: Diane Bennett