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Down and out Your Take: The best way to score boxing
Posted: Sunday May 09, 1999 12:34 PM
CNN/SI asked users how boxing should be scored to minimize human error and bias. Here are some of your responses... I think there isn't a thing wrong with the way boxing is scored. The problem lies with the human element. The level of corruption is immeasurable at best, and will continue to bring about the destruction of the sweet science until (knock on wood) government intervenes. -- Jeff Price, Orlando, FL Don't change a thing the human element of the subjective scoring is one of the factors that makes pro boxing as exciting and interesting as it is. I don't like displaying the scores between rounds either I can't think of anything more intense than the moments of anticipation before the judges scores are tallied in a close decision. The Holyfeild-Lewis fight wasn't the first, the worst or the last bad decision but let's not ruin the hundreds of exciting finishes because of one bad decision that got a lot of main stream media attention. I also think if we need to protect fighters from promoters and managers we also need to protect them from the cable networks that routinely tie up young champs to multi-year deals and prevent the best matchups because of conflicts in pay-per-view broadcast contracts. HBO, the self professed saviors of pugilism, have prevented as many exciting fights as they have shown, and I don't ever remember them releasing even one champion to fight on another network. I don't think bias plays a part with impartial officials and referees, but effects the affiliated broadcasters who influence the audiences perception of the fight thru slanted and one sided commentary and very questionable expert analysis. -- Scott Hirsch, Boynton Beach, FL Eliminate the round-by-round punch stats as a measure of who is winning the fight. Many of these "punches" are nothing but taps to the arms or gloves of the opponents. While they carry a "thud", they seldom, if ever, do any damage to an opponent. Case in point was the controversial Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor fight. Taylor appeared ahead on all judges cards, what they failed to mention was that after the untimely knockout, Taylor was never the same fighter. The thorough whooping he got from Chavez would have killed him had the fight been scheduled to 15 rounds as in past. -- Rico Salgado, San Diego, CA The training of judges is crucial. They may know the game, but is that all it takes? Impartiality, objectivity, an ability to concentrate solely on the action, not the attitudes and personas of the participants. Motivating them to take pride in being truthful and fair; make them want to be their best. -- Anthony Ashley, Austin, TX I think open scoring is a good ideal and it allows all person either watching the fight at home or be it at the arena to know exactly where the two fighters stand -- with no surprises at the end of the night like the Holyfield-Lewis bout which I feel Lewis won. -- Antonio C, Atlanta, GA I am a true believer that judges should have more seminars on regards to scoring. Ex-world champions are good candidates for these positions since they have the experience in their ring, which other judges do not have. A good example is former World Champion Alexis Arguello, who works for the World Boxing Association (WBA) as a judge. Arguello has done a tremendous job so far. -- Jose Oliver Gomez, Panama City, Panama Boxing needs to be scored on a standardized point system. Punches get one point and knockdowns two points. If a fighter is knocked down three times in a given round it is a loss and/or TKO. If a fighter is cut, and bleeding persists more than two rounds, stoping the fight should not be an option for medical personnel -- a rematch will be automatic within three months. If a fighter does not answer punches for three rounds it's a TKO. Remember, the point of boxing is to hit your opponent. The person with the most hits should win. -- Eric Gladman, Akron, OH I think we should bring back the 15 round bout or even go back in time to when the last man standing won the fight. Let's get the softies out of the ring and back on the modeling runway! -- Nana La, San Jose, CA It's not the way it should be scored -- it's the judges. They should be accountable for bad work, like any other job, this will put the pressure on them to be consistent and fair. We all watched the Lewis-Holyfield fight, and while Holyfield is my favorite fighter -- the fight was not even close. This is where they should be penalized. But boxing has never been a clean sport and we will probably see more bad decisions in the future. -- Chuck Chapman, Columbus, OH I suggest a 10 point must system by three ringside judges, with their scores posted by round on an easy to see scoreboard. This would definitely cut back on anyone's chances of misrepresenting scores by believing they have some measure of anonymity. -- Joe Graham, Albuquerque, NM Fights should be scored based upon the meaningful punches landed by the fighters. Knockdowns should not automatically be given so much weight. Under the present system a close round is scored 10-8 if there is a flash knockdown and even if the fighter is not really hurt. On the other hand, if a fighter is hammered from one end of the ring to the other without going down, the round is usually scored 10-9. In rounds where there is little action and few punches thrown, then the round should be scored even. In the final analysis it should not be the number of punches thrown or landed that determine the outcome. It should be the amount of damage and punishment landed or inflicted. -- David Guay, Monrovia, CA How about instead of human judges, who could be bribed to fix the fight, why not make robots that are sanctioned by the respective boxing committee. If we find out that the robots cheated or made a mistake, the angry mob can feel free to throw buckets at the robot and fry its circuits. Stupid robots. Can they do anything right? -- Dave Sebele, Sarnia, Ontario I believe boxing should go back in time and all bouts should end in KO's with unlimited rounds. Although many injuries would occur this would bring legitimacy and excitement to the sport. If boxing believes judges should still prevail then use more judges, say 15, to eliminate any influence over 1 or 2 judges. -- Joseph DelGrippo, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
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