Nobody pays to see judges at ringside with scorecard in one hand and pencil in the other. But it’s the judges, not the fighters, who are dominating talk in a way that can’t be good for business.
Debatable scorecards are part of the game. And, sometimes, the subsequent controversy is even good for it. If the public is arguing, it’s interested. But a succession of lousy decisions and inexplicable scoring is an ominous trend.
In the messy wake of judge C.J. Ross’ 114-114 score for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s brilliance in overwhelming Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas and Brian Vera’s unanimously controversial loss on the cards to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., in Carson, Calif., there is angst about what might happen Saturday in the Miguel Cotto-Delvin Rodriquez fight in Orlando, Fla., and the Wladimir Kitschko-Alexander Povetkin bout in Moscow.
Attention on whether Freddie Roach can revive Cotto’s career and Klitschko’s chase of Joe Louis’ record of 25 successive title defenses has been obscured by questions that shouldn’t matter. But they do, now more than ever. It was even there Tuesday during a conference call with Timothy Bradley for what should be the best in boxing’s Octoberfest against Juan Manuel Marquez on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.
Worried about the judges?
“There is always a concern,’’ Bradley trainer Joel Diaz said. “This is boxing, and at the end of the day, what’s going to happen is going to happen. Tim is a very elusive fighter and has great speed and great footwork. If it’s up to the judges, we hope they do their job.’’
Good luck on that.
Too many scores just don’t add up any more. The fighters, themselves, can settle it before the decision falls into the judges’ unreliable hands. The knockout is what separates boxing from figure skating or American Idol.
Amid warnings about long-term damage from concussions, however, fewer fights figure to end in a definitive stoppage. Mayweather’s defensive mastery has allowed him to elude punishment and fight on in career that has turned him into the world’s highest-earning athlete.
Mayweather, the self-proclaimed face of the battered game, has more decisions than scars. For Mayweather, there’s been unprecedented wealth in the cards. Young fighters are bound to follow his example.
Even for Mayweather, there was a scare when Ross’ bizarre score was the first of three announced in his majority decision over Canelo. It also was a sure sign that scorecard arithmetic can make just about anybody feel as if they just had their pocket picked. Ask Vera.
Controversy over Chavez Jr.-Vera might lead to a rematch. Vera promoter Artie Pelullo said preliminary talks are
underway, possibly for Dec. 7 or Dec. 14 in Texas, Vera’s home state.
There’s been no word from Chavez Jr. on whether he’d agree to one. However, Pelullo said Wednesday that Chavez Jr. is under pressure from Mexican fans to fight Vera a second time. Chavez Jr.’s popularity in Mexico is at stake, Pelullo said during a conference call.
Pelullo suggested that there will be a rematch because Mexico is holding Chavez Jr. accountable.
Holding judges accountable, however, is a different issue. After reported complaints from Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, Ross took a leave of absence. If there were any consequences for the Chavez-Vera scores in California, they have yet to be disclosed.
Without accountability, the controversies will continue in Nevada or California or Texas or Florida or Moscow, Pelullo said.
An enforcement of standards and discipline, however, isn’t free. Despite all the screaming about what state commissions and regulatory agencies should do, few real solutions have been offered.
Here’s one suggestion:
Boxing is trying to get drug use under control. After some early controversy, Dr. Margaret Goodman’s VADA, an outside testing agency, has become part of a process accepted by the fighters. It’s not perfect. But it’s a beginning.
Can’t a similar agency under the control of retired judges be created? Give it the authority to review a commission’s assignment of referees. Let it put together a policy of standards and ethics. It would cost money, which means a percentage of the total purse split by fighters and promoters. It’s a fee, another one that would anger Top Rank and Golden Boy and anybody else with an investment in the game.
Without one, however, there might not be a much of purse left for anyone to split.
