I get a kick out of boxing followers and media arguing over levels of theft. Like, if the combat is shut, then it’s acceptable to count on that possibly the mistaken man could be declared the winner. That’s how a lot us boxing individuals have turn out to be conditioned to simply accept incompetence and chicanery as an integral, basic a part of our sport. If boxing logic had been utilized to the NBA, poor officiating can be extra tolerated in an in depth sport as a result of, nicely, it was shut anyway and shit occurs.
Folks, Vasiliy Lomachenko gained that combat on Saturday– and I say that as somebody who had picked Haney to win pretty comfortably. It was definitely an in depth combat (I had it scored 115-113 for Lomachenko), nevertheless it’s onerous to make a case for a Haney win in the event you scored every spherical pretty and with out pulling your individual narratives into the scoring.
Many of the fighters I’ve seen discuss this combat and a lot of the followers had Lomachenko successful. The one agency “Haney gained” outliers appear to be among the many media, and we must always come to count on nothing lower than doubtful boxing thought processes from that lot. I truly noticed one media dolt’s scorecard learn 7 rounds to 2 in Haney’s favor going into the tenth, which might’ve required him to provide Haney nearly each profit of each doubt in each shut spherical.
It’s doable to have the combat 114-114 or 115-113 for Haney with out being a dolt. The primary few rounds, particularly, had been shut and onerous to attain. However it’s simply onerous to see Haney taking sufficient of these rounds to make up for Lomachenko’s second half surge.
And on the topic…let’s discuss Dave Moretti’s 116-112 rating for Haney, which was actually dangerous, not only for the general tally, however for his scoring of clear Lomachenko rounds later within the combat for Haney (he gave 5 of the final six rounds to Haney). On the Haney-Lomachenko undercard, he had Muhammad Ali’s grandson Nico Ali Walsh beating Danny Rosenberger in a bout that Rosenberger ought to’ve gained, however one which ended as a beneficiant draw. Simply final week, Moretti issued the embarrassing 97-93 rating in favor of Rances Barthelemy over Omar Juarez. Earlier than that, he scored the second spherical within the Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia bout 10-10 regardless of Davis scoring a knockdown. That’s plenty of awfulness scrammed right into a one-month interval. I hate to sound ageist right here, nevertheless it could be time for the 78-year-old to be put down (within the boxing decide sense). Perhaps simply TELL him he’s a decide and sit him at ringside with an arthritis-grip pen and a scorecard that goes straight within the trash after he submits it.
I don’t need to hear about levels of theft or if this combat was too near be thought of a theft. Every time the mistaken fighter wins a combat, it’s dangerous. And the mistaken man was declared the winner on Saturday.
That’s a disgrace as a result of Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko was an excellent combat, a compelling combat. It deserved higher than the subtext of “however I don’t suppose Haney gained” that it’ll carry with it from this level ahead. I doubt if anybody who purchased a ticket to see the combat reside or who paid the 60 bucks to observe the pay-per-view was disappointed– till the very finish.
It wasn’t a lot of an motion combat, at the least not within the sense that both needed to go to hell and again within the pursuit of victory. And, earlier than you begin writing your hate mail, I ought to make it clear that what I wrote above is by no means meant as a slam. Not each entertaining, compelling combat must be Gatti-Ward. Typically, two fighters being actually good at what they do and executing nicely is greater than sufficient for an excellent night time of boxing.
The pre-fight publicity pushed this one as a high-stakes chess match. And, on this uncommon event, the hype matched the fact. There was plenty of tactical jockeying for place and a number of other ebbs and flows in momentum all through the competition. It was a enjoyable watch with out the “WAR” aesthetics normally related to an excellent prizefight.
Sadly, every little thing surrounding this good combat was crap.
Not lengthy earlier than the precise bout, followers had been shocked to study that there was an “official” closed door fee weigh-in for the fighters on Friday morning, greater than seven hours earlier than the “ceremonial” weigh-in later that afternoon for the advantage of followers and media.
Apparently, this has been common apply contained in the jurisdiction of the Nevada State Athletic Fee (NSAC) for a bit, a incontrovertible fact that had by no means been talked about by the boxing media and was solely addressed publicly by some after I made a little bit of a stink about it. By the best way, I acquired a chuckle out of some media lunkheads leaping on me with “Oh, you didn’t know that?” taunts, to which I responded with a “nicely, because the media ‘specialists’ and self-described journalists, why hadn’t you ever bothered to carry it up?” I imply, critically, a closed door weigh-in with no followers or media allowed to be current is rife with the opportunity of shadiness and corruption. It boggles the thoughts that our boxing media, which brags incessantly about its “insider” information and journalistic chops, wouldn’t see this rule change as a doable trigger for concern. Or, possibly, they’re simply business shills who care extra for the bosses than for the followers or the fighters. Yeah, that’s most likely it.
Within the particular case of Haney-Lomachenko, the early weigh-in would positively work to the advantage of Haney, the naturally bigger fighter, permitting him additional time to comfortably rehydrate earlier than the opening bell. In a video posted instantly after the “official” fee weigh-in, Lomachenko, himself, talked about that it took Haney “two or three” tries to make weight. Perhaps he DIDN’T make weight and a deal was made to save lots of the combat and Haney’s repute. However, in fact, we’d by no means know as a result of the entire thing was completed behind closed doorways.
In a sport the place loss of life and everlasting incapacity are legitimately doable outcomes, transparency and accountability are important as a part of the regulatory course of. We’re getting much less of that now and the media, whose main job is to advocate for transparency and accountability, helps preserve issues hush-hush.
Haney’s shove of Lomachenko at Friday’s “ceremonial” weigh-in acquired extra ESPN scrutiny and extra consideration from the NSAC, which pushed for a disciplinary listening to and ordered a bodily to judge Lomachenko’s well-being, than Ismael Barroso’s profession being skull-fucked by Tony Weeks per week earlier. Let that sink in. Take all of that into consideration the subsequent time you hear the media or the fee discuss their concern for the fighters and their love for the game.
It’s a disgrace Haney-Lomachenko needed to be splattered with this rotten diarrhea bomb of boxing shittiness. Each fighters got here to the ring and carried out splendidly. They did their half.
Sadly, you possibly can’t stroll right into a shit and piss-covered porta potty in your greatest Sunday garments and count on to return out clear.
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