Bad Officiating Now a Domestic Problem in the US

Bad Officiating Now a Domestic Problem in the US
Mark Ortega 
Undisputed Fight Magazine, September 2011 issue
September 2011

THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE SEPTEMBER 2011 EDITION OF DIGITAL BOXING MAGAZINE, UNDISPUTED FIGHT MAGAZINE.

It wasn't long ago that American fight fans figured bad officiating was a foreign concept.

The popular line “You need a knockout to get a draw over there” is rumored to be founded during the title reign of Sven Ottke of Germany, who saw many an unpopular decision fall his way.

Unfortunately, particularly in the past few years, that ideal has been wiped away by an extraordinary number of bad calls in officiating in the United States just this year.



Let's start with this past month's bantamweight title fight between IBF champion Joseph Agbeko and unbeaten challenger Abner Mares, who met in the finals of the well received Showtime bantamweight tournament that began last December.

Agbeko, a tough luck fighter from the Bronx by way of Ghana, was a two-to-one dog to defend his title successfully against the more youthful Mares, 24, who had the big time backing of Golden Boy Promotions and was set to become the first fighter of theirs to turn pro under them and later win a world title. Agbeko's representation is the once glorious Don King, whose name doesn't hold as much weight as it did twenty years ago.

It was an action packed fight that will forever be remembered for the non-action of one Russell Mora, who refereed the contest and single handedly snatched victory from one fighter's hands and handed it over to another.

First, there was a knockdown in the opening stanza of Agbeko that looked to be more of a slip from missing a wild punch. Mares no doubt was winning the round, but benefited in earning an additional point from the ruling.

As the bout wore on, Mares consistently threw punches south of the equator, often times getting away with it without so much as a warning. Mares also was warned at least a dozen times for low blows but never saw a point taken away. Agbeko was consistently reprimanded for pulling Mares' head down, often right after he had been pounded to the family jewels.

Things came to a head in round eleven as Agbeko, who had come on strong in the second half of the fight, was once again struck with a shot that was inconceivably low [and right in the eyesight of one Russell Mora]. Mora took Mares to a neutral corner and looked as though he was going to deduct a point.

What happened next was absurd.

Mora resumed a count at four to Agbeko, ruling the obvious foul as a legal punch, rendering a round that Agbeko was dominating as a two point round for Mares. It was a three point swing that put the final nails in the coffin of Agbeko's title defense.

What makes Mora's inaction on the low blows even more peculiar is the comparison to a bout that Mora refereed in Las Vegas this April.

This writer watched ringside as Mora attempted to ruin a great competitive battle between two warriors in Robert Guerrero and Michael Katsidis, as he did for Agbeko and Mares. In round eight of their hotly contested bout, Mora took two points from Katsidis, having not really warned him much throughout the bout for hitting low. Mora was met by heavy boos and later took a point away from Guerrero in round nine as an obvious make up call.

Mora's ineptness, considered one of the worst refereeing jobs of the millenium, comes a mere month after what many consider the worst robbery in that same time frame as Paul Williams was gifted a decision win over Erislandy Lara in July. It was the first time that all three judges were suspended for their scoring of a bout, though what that really will mean remains to be seen.

While certainly there are still cases of egregious officiating in Europe and Asia (the scorecards in Felix Sturm-Matthew Macklin come to mind), it must now be considered a problem on the homefront.

Many of the worst decision of the last ten years have taken place in the States. Joel Casamayor-Jose Armando Santa Cruz. Juan Diaz-Paulie Malignaggi. Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams I.

Now the refereeing has become compromised. Russell Mora should not be refereeing a major prizefight. Joe Cortez should have retired a decade ago.

Low blows seem to be a big problem. How is there no set standard? Two warnings, then you should take a point. Again, and you should take another point. Maybe one more warning that you are going to disqualify the fighter on the next foul, and then the disqualification. On that system, Abner Mares should have been disqualified thrice over.

Mindboggling refereeing and judging is part of what keeps boxing from growing a new fan base. In a world where most sports' rules are black and white, boxing is the most reliant upon subjectiveness. Until it figures out a way to reprimand those responsible for turning uneven performances in.