Bad decisions in boxing: what can be done?

Leading up to last night’s Floyd Mayweather-Saul Alvarez fight, ESB had an article asking whether or not “The One” could end up being scored as a draw. It didn’t happen, but one individual masquerading as a judge – really a person who deserves no further publicity, even bad publicity – DID manage to score the bout a draw. This after 10, 11 or maybe even 12 master class rounds by the incomparable 36-year-old all-time great known as Money.

The draw was never really close to happening, but the fact that one judge had the fight so badly, so poorly, so disgustingly and so erroneously scored is bad enough. Surely something must be done about last night’s unfathomable 114-114 scorecard and the person who handed it in. There must at least be an investigation, and after such a thing has happened, no way will any conclusion be reached than one that says last night’s judge is woefully incompetent.

Overall, because the right man won, no real harm has been done – some people may say this anyway. But is that really the point? What if three “incompetent” officials are put together at the same time for the same fight one day?

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Danny Garcia Outpoints Lucas Matthysse

GarciaMatthysse_Hoganphotos1 Danny Garcia retained the unified super lightweight world title with an impressive performance against the favored Lucas Matthysse. Utilizing solid combinations and body shots, Garcia executed a solid game plan en route to a unanimous decision (115-111, 114-112, twice).

Matthysse (34-3, 32 KO’s) entered the fight having knocked out five of his last six opponents and a reputation as one of the most feared punchers on the planet. But the Argentinean knockout artist’s power wasn’t as apparent against the aggressive Garcia (27-0, 16 KO’s), who silenced his doubters and defended his WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Titles.

Seemingly down on points, Matthysse came out with a vengeance in the eleventh to kick off the championship rounds, knocking Garcia’s mouthpiece out with a powerful straight right.

But, after a brief pause to recover the mouthpiece, Garcia bounced back and floored Matthysse for the first time in his career.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr truly is “THE ONE”!

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Sept. 14, 2013) – The undisputed, pound-for-pound champion put on a clinic against Mexican sensation Canelo Alvarez, handing the 23-year-old superstar his first loss in the toughest test of his career Saturday on SHOWTIME PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Canelo (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) fought with everything he had, but couldn’t solve the puzzle of Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather showcased his signature speed and elusiveness in front of a largely pro-Canelo crowd of 16,746 fans en route to a majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 117-111).

For the night’s work, Mayweather collected a guaranteed $41.5 million and Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight Championships.

“It’s all about skills,” Mayweather said. “I came out tonight and showed my skills. But a true champion like Canelo can take a loss and bounce back.

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Danny Garcia defeats Matthysse

Danny Garcia Fights For His 0, Successfully Earning Another W

Unfortunately, despite heavy effort, the sports did not fly the way they were expected in this fight until the last couple of rounds. Both fighters had their moments, but it seemed that the urgency took charge in round 9-12, where both men went to work.

Garcia lost his possible 1 point advantage for dropping Matthysse when that same 1 point was deducted from his score due to the low blow.

I would like to call it a close fight, but due to the last few rounds, where Matthysse had clearly faded squeezing the last drops of his remaining stamina, Lucas was ripe for the picking.

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Floyd Mayweather dominates Canelo

Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez by a 12 round majority decision to capture his two titles on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The judges scored 116-112, 117-111 and 114-114.

Class Dismissed: Mayweather Jr. Dominated Saul Alvarez

As it turned out, Saul ‘Canelo’Alvarez was not The One tonight in Las Vegas Nevada. The mystery of the blueprint of how to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. stays intact.

There was effort from Canelo from bell to bell, but its not the effort that is required to beat Mayweather Jr., its something else. What? Apparently this question has not yet been answered.

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Mayweather decisions Canelo; Matthysse robbed in loss to Garcia

may664 Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KO’s) really took WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) to school tonight in beating him by a one-sided 12 round majority decision on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The judges scored the fight 114-114 even, 116-112, 117-111.

I really feel sorry for the judge that scored the fight even, because a score like that made this person look out of touch with what happened in the ring tonight. It wasn’t even score. It was a was one-sided whipping by Mayweather where at best you could only give Canelo 3 rounds, and that’s by really ignoring the face that Mayweather still controlled the rounds where Canelo did some good things.

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Danny O` Connor Beats Raul Tover

847 The 2008 Olympic Team Alternate, Danny “Bhoy” O` Connor put in a workman like performance against Raul Tover as he controlled all eight rounds of their welterweight bout enroute to an unanimous decision with two scorecards of 79-73 and one scorecard of 80-73. O` Connor improved to 23-1, 7KOs while Tover from Mission, Texas, dropped to 11-8-1, 4KOs.

“I felt good out there and did what I had to to beat a tough fighter in Tover,” said O` Connor. “In fighting for the third time in the last four months, I`m trying to be the most active fighter out there who continues to fight as often as I can until I get a significant bout that leads me to a world title.”

O` Connor out punched and out landed Tover, displayed a great jab, worked the body well and had him in trouble in the second, seventh and eighth round, however, he was unable to finish him off as Tover hung in there and tried to make it a fight until the end.

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Garcia vs. Matthysse: “Head to Head”

In what should be one of the more explosive bouts fight fans have seen in a while, Lucas Matthysse will attempt to take Danny Garcia’s universally recognized title as the best 140 pound fighter on the planet.

It’s a real shame that this match-up has gone under the radar of the mainstream consciousness. But both fighters will get their chance to make a lasting impression on the casual fans of boxing as they tangle in the co-main event of tonight’s fantastic PPV event.

While most ringside observers have dubbed Matthysse to be the overwhelming favorite in the highly anticipated Junior Welterweight war, Danny’s outspoken father and head trainer has clearly taken exception to the media’s lofty praise of the hard hitting Argentine.

In the immortal words of the incomparable Angel Garcia, “Vegas don’t know nothing…the world don’t know nothing…only I know everything!!”
We’ll find out tonight if he truly is boxing’s soothsayer!!

Let’s take a look at the “Tale of the Tape”!!

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Mayweather vs. Canelo: “Head to Head”

“The One: Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Canelo Alvarez” is an event that seems to have captured the imagination of the mainstream sports fan. It’s a match-up in which the architects and combatants deserve much credit and praise.

Both competing fighters are answering their own respective critics with a resounding “Take That” by participating in this super-pairing.

For years Floyd Jr. has been chastised by his detractors for seemingly avoiding the best fighters of his respective weight divisions and their respective primes. After defeating Austin “No Doubt” Trout on April 20th, there became a consensus among fight fans for Money May to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez; a fighter who had also been criticized for being a product of creative match-making as well.

Canelo was consistently ridiculed by die-hard fight fans for evading the best fighters in the talent enriched Junior Middleweight division, prior to taking on his September 17th assignment…which coincidently is the best fighter in boxing.

That’s what makes “The One” so captivating to most ringside observers.

Let’s take a look at the “Tale of the Tape”!!

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Mayweather vs Canelo: “Keys to Victory”, “Four to Explore”, “Inside the Numbers”, & “Official Prediction”!

Largest gate revenue generated in the history of the sport? Counted and in the books! Best combined record for a super mega-fight between two Champions in this era (86-0-1)? By a landslide…..Easy work! Highest Pay-Per-View buy rate in the history of the sport? Certainly in the zone……final tally pending. No matter how we dice up this epic affair, on paper, it appears the world of Boxing is well on track to see something truly monumental by the end of the night. In an effort to analyze this colossal event, we take a closer look at not only “Keys to Victory”, “Four to Explore”, and a “Final Prediction”; but also a deeper look “Inside the Numbers”, so that we can finally put a few commonly spoken myths to bed:

FLOYD MAYWEATHER – KEYS TO VICTORY

Floyd Mayweather was never the fastest, the biggest, or the strongest. He was simply the smartest! That’s his true claim to fame! Of all “Keys to Victory” eligible, that’s the one attribute Mayweather will need most tonight, as no opponent in recent times, (if ever), presented the level of danger found in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Mayweather has been the best chess master Boxing has seen, arguably in history.

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