Boxing in 2020 really kicked off this weekend with an array of events across the United States, but any hopes and dreams of awful judging being a thing of the past has already been quashed.
Well, let's be honest. For a sport that loves to continue to shoot itself in the foot, it was always going to be a big ask for the total eradication of dodgy ringside scorecards being turned it. But it could have been at least a few weeks and events in until it happened.
2019 was awash with post boxing decision twitter meltdowns from fight fans aghast at the scorecards that they had heard. It’s seemingly become the norm these days. Rarely does a weekend of boxing action pass by without a rogue scorecard dished out by a blind official.
In the last 12 months we have seen numerous flawed decision or a single unfathomable scorecard.
And so a new year begins and there’s no sign of any boxing resolutions to improve the officiating crises we are officially declaring that we are in!
Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, Bernard Hopkins conqueror Joe Smith Jr produced a great pressure fighter display and upset the odds with a decision victory over Jesse Hart.
A pre-fight ¼ betting favourite, Hart wasn’t able to cope with the marauding Smith who’s power shots repeatedly seemed to cause damage to Hart, and conceded a knockdown mid through the fight.
Thankfully the scores favoured the right guy, but an inexplicable card turned in by James Kinney had the fight 95-94 to Hart! What was he seeing?
Boxing Twitter was eager to show it’s disapproval.
And away we go. 2020 is off with a boxing scorecard controversy and we’re continuing the norms as they are.
We will continue to monitor and highlight all the crappy scorecards our loveable boxing judges and officials come up with as they unfold over the year.