Judge gets stood down after verdict sparks fury

THE judge who sparked controversy with her scoring in Gennady Golovkin’s thrilling draw with Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night is being temporarily stood down.

Adalaide Byrd, who has developed a reputation for debatable scoring, had the Mexican winning 118-110 – a score which perplexed most observers and put her at odds with her fellow judges.

Judge Dave Moretti scored the bout 115-113 in favour of the still unbeaten Golovkin, while Don Trella scored it 114-114 to create the split decision draw.

Yet across the five rounds that Moretti and Trella scored for Golovkin, Byrd awarded each round to Alvarez.

There was also peculiar scoring from Trella in the seventh round, which was won decisively by Golovkin.

His scoring of that round ultimately made the contest a draw overall, yet it was Byrd’s performance which attracted most criticism from within the fighting fraternity.

TERRIBLE

Golovkin, who retained his three middleweight belts, branded Byrd’s scorecard “terrible, unbelievable” after landing 218 punches to Canelo’s 169. “This is not good for the sport of boxing,” he added.

The skewed set of judges’ scores overshadowed the brilliance displayed by both men in boxing’s biggest showdown of the year.

The thrilling encounter was a brutal chess match involving heart, chins, stamina and desire.

Meanwhile, Ray Moylette recorded the sixth win of his pro career on a split decision after being dropped by American Donte Bryant in the second round of their fight in Connecticut.

“I’ve never witnessed anything like it. Ray got caught solid. He was in a place he’d never been in before but he got back up and won,” said the Mayoman’s coach Martin Brennan.

Moylette, who has won six fights since making his debut, will continue his hectic schedule –will continue his hectic schedule in Boston on Saturday week.

Unbeaten Wexford Garda Niall Kennedy claimed the New England heavyweight title by shocking favourite Alexis Santos, also on a split decision.