Judges did boxing a great disservice
Officials need to be held accountable for the decisions they make to prevent further miscarriages of justice
FOR boxing to be taken seriously we have to make judges accountable for their actions.
Tyson Fury won his fight against Deontay Wilder, in my eyes by three rounds. For it to be deemed a draw screams of injustice. We hate to taint our sport with the word, but that type of decision suggests possible corruption.
Scoring like that of Mexican judge Alejandro Rochin, 115-111 in favour of Wilder, is just plain wrong. I’m not saying he is corrupt, no one wants to get sued here, but when scoring is that far from what we have seen, eyebrows are raised and questions must be asked. For boxing to move with the times it must be policed better. The judges should be made to sit down in front of a screen, re-watch the fight and show how they scored it with an independent adjudicator alongside them. They both started off nervously, trying to find their range. Fury settled quicker and, for me, won three of the first five rounds. Wilder had to wait until Fury tired and then was able to tag him later in the fight. Wilder couldn’t manhandle his opponent like he has been used to. Even when Fury was knocked down, he clearly had the edge in the rounds.
The way Fury came back from the knockdowns is a credit to the camp, as well as his determination. Good on him. The promoter, Shelly Finkel, says Wilder will fight better next time and Fury won’t. Wilder has to fight better, but Fury will improve, too. The more he’s in the ring the sharper he will become. Wilder needs his next fight to be the Fury rematch. His bargaining power with Anthony Joshua is actually weaker today because he hasn’t resolved whether he is better than Fury.
Fury has been to a dark place and come through as an inspiration. At 30, he has age on his side and this fight will have taught him that he has to keep boxing. Boxing is his crutch. Fighters need a focus and Fury needs to box regularly. That’s where he will find stability. – Daily Mail