When it’s not only the losing fighter who is screaming robbery, but it is also almost all the fans who watched the fight, along with more than the lion’s share of media folks who watched the fight happen, we know it was a controversial result. Last night in Manchester, when the official cards were read out at the conclusion of the fight between Joshua Buatsi and Zach Parker, an absolute torrent of anger came flooding out.
Buatsi was awarded a 10-round majority decision over Parker, the scores being 94-94, 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third judge having it level at 95-95. Parker was fuming, claiming that Buatsi won “one round.” This is not a case of sour grapes, far from it. Plenty of fans are putting it out there on social media that the sport suffered the “robbery of the year” last night, while scribes and pundits such as Dan Rafael and others are in full agreement.
Dan Rafael Slams Decision as “Grotesque”
Rafael went as far as to write of last night’s light heavyweight decision that it was “f***g grotesque. Fk that. I’m done.”
Strong words indeed, and there could prove to be an official investigation into last night’s decision. We have heard it all before: scoring a fight is subjective, down to opinion, and sometimes even vantage point. But some decisions are simply unfathomable, and last night’s majority verdict falls into this category.
Should Buatsi Grant Parker a Rematch?
For his part, winner Buatsi – who absolutely should do the right thing and grant Parker a rematch – claimed after his win that Parker used negative, spoiling tactics. Parker says he completely outboxed Buatsi, who he says “barely touched me.”
It’s more than clear who around 90 percent of the boxing world agrees with.
Did we really see the Robbery of the Year last night?
