In an unprecedented development, the Boxing Writers Association of America has started a “watch list” to lift the curtain on ring officials who have “screwed up.” Veteran Texas referee Laurence Cole and Nebraska judges Mike Contreras and Jeff Sinnett have the unwelcome distinction of being the first “honorees.”

“Boxing is a sport where judges and referees are rarely held accountable for poor performances that unfairly change the course of a fighter’s career and, in some instances, endanger lives,” says the BWAA in a preamble to the new feature. Hence the watch list, which is designed to “call attention to ‘egregious’ errors in scoring by judges and unacceptable conduct by referees.”

Contreras and Sinnett, residents of Omaha, were singled out for their scorecards in the match between lightweights Thomas Mattice and Zhora Hamazaryan, an eight round contest staged at the WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa on July 20. They both scored the fight 76-75 for Mattice, enabling the Ohio fighter to keep his undefeated record intact via a split decision.

Although Mattice vs. Hamazaryan was a supporting bout, it aired live on ShoBox. Analyst Steve Farhood, who was been with ShoBox since the inception of the series in 2001, called it one of the worst decisions he had ever seen. Lead announcer Barry Tompkins went further, calling it the worst decision he has seen in his 40 years of covering the sport.

Laurence Cole (pictured alongside his father) was singled out for his behavior as the third man in the ring for the fight between Regis Prograis and Juan Jose Velasco at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on July 14. The bout was televised live on ESPN.

In his rationale for calling out Cole, BWAA prexy Joseph Santoliquito leaned heavily on Thomas Hauser’s critique of Cole’s performance in The Sweet Science. “Velasco fought courageously and as well as he could,” noted Hauser. “But at the end of round seven he was a thoroughly beaten fighter.”

His chief second bullied him into coming out for another round. Forty-five seconds into round eight, after being knocked down for a third time, Velasco spit out his mouthpiece and indicated to Cole that he was finished. But Cole insisted that the match continue and then, after another knockdown that he ruled a slip, let it continue for another 35 seconds before Velasco’s corner mercifully threw in the towel.

Controversy has dogged Laurence Cole for well over a decade.

Cole was the third man in the ring for the Nov. 25, 2006 bout in Hildalgo, Texas, between Juan Manuel Marquez and Jimrex Jaca. In the fifth round, Marquez sustained a cut on his forehead from an accidental head butt. In round eight, another accidental head butt widened and deepened the gash. As Marquez was being examined by the ring doctor, Cole informed Marquez that he was ahead on the scorecards, volunteering this information while holding his hand over his HBO wireless mike. The inference was that Marquez was free to quit right then without tarnishing his record. (Marquez elected to continue and stopped Jaca in the next round.)

This was improper. For this indiscretion, Cole was prohibited from working a significant fight in Texas for the next six months.

More recently, Cole worked the 2014 fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Orlando Salido at the San Antonio Alamodome. During the fight, Salido made a mockery of the Queensberry rules for which he received no point deductions and only one warning. Cole’s performance, said Matt McGrain, was “astonishingly bad,” an opinion echoed by many other boxing writers. And one could site numerous other incidents where Cole’s performance came under scrutiny.

Laurence Cole is the son of Richard “Dickie” Cole. The elder Cole, now 87 years old, served 21 years as head of the Texas Department of Combat Sports Regulation before stepping down on April 30, 2014. At various times during his tenure, Dickie Cole held high executive posts with the World Boxing Council and North American Boxing Federation. He was the first and only inductee into the inaugural class of the Texas Boxing Hall of Fame, an organization founded by El Paso promoter Lester Bedford in 2015.

From an administrative standpoint, boxing in Texas during the reign of Dickie Cole was frequently described in terms befitting a banana republic. Whenever there was a big fight in the Lone Star State, his son was the favorite to draw the coveted refereeing assignment.

Boxing is a sideline for Laurence Cole who runs an independent insurance agency in Dallas. By law in Texas (and in most other states), a boxing promoter must purchase insurance to cover medical costs in the event that one or more of the fighters on his show is seriously injured. Cole’s agency is purportedly in the top two nationally in writing these policies. Make of that what you will.

Complaints of ineptitude, says the WBAA, will be evaluated by a “rotating committee of select BWAA members and respected boxing experts.” In subsequent years, says the press release, the watch list will be published quarterly in the months of April, August, and December (must be the new math).

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When WBA/WBO super featherweight champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas met Jorge Rodrigo “Il Hiena” Barrios in Miami on August 8, 2003, there was more on the line than just the titles. This was a roughhousing 39-1-1 Argentinian fighting an equally tough 33-0 Brazilian. The crowd was divided between Brazilian fans and those from Argentina. To them this was a Mega-Fight; this was BIG.

When Acelino Freitas turned professional in 1995, he streaked from the gate with 29 straight KOs, one of the longest knockout win streaks in boxing history. He was fan-friendly and idolized in Brazil. Barrios turned professional in 1996 and went 14-0 before a DQ loss after which he went 25-0-1 with 1 no decision.

The Fight

The wild swinging “Hyena” literally turned into one as he attacked from the beginning and did not let up until the last second of the eleventh round. Barrios wanted to turn the fight into a street fight and was reasonably successful with that strategy. It became a case of brawler vs. boxer/puncher and when the brawler caught the more athletic Popo—who could slip and duck skillfully—and decked him with a straight left in the eighth, the title suddenly was up for grabs.

The Brazilian fans urged their hero on but to no avail as Barrios rendered a pure beat down on Popo during virtually the entirety of the 11th round—one of the most exciting in boxing history. Freitas went down early from a straight right. He was hurt, and at this point it looked like it might be over. Barrios was like a madman pounding Popo with a variety of wild shots, but with exactly one half of one second to go before the bell ending the round, Freitas caught La Hiena with a monster right hand that caused the Hyena to do the South American version of the chicken dance before he went down with his face horribly bloodied. When he got up, he had no idea where he was but his corner worked furiously to get him ready for the final round. All he had to do was hang in there and the title would change hands on points.

The anonymous architect of “In Boxing We Trust,” a web site that went dormant in 2010, wrote this description:

“Near the end of round 11, about a milli-second before the bell rang, Freitas landed a ROCK HARD right hand shot flush on Barrios’ chin. Barrios stood dazed for a moment, frozen in time, and then down he went, WOW WOW WOW!!!! Barrios got up at the count of 4, he didn’t know where he was as he looked around towards the crowd like a kid separated from his family at a theme park, but Barrios turned to the ref at the count of 8 and signaled that he was okay, SAVED BY THE BELL. It was panic time in the Barrios corner, as the blood continued to flow like lava, and he was bleeding from his ear (due to a ruptured ear drum). In the beginning of round 12, Freitas was able to score an early knockdown, and as Barrios stood up on wobbly legs and Freitas went straight at him and with a couple more shots, Barrios was clearly in bad shape and badly discombobulated and the fight was stopped. Freitas had won a TKO victory in round 12, amazing!!!!”

Later, Freitas tarnished his image with a “No Mas” against Diego Corrales, but he had gone down three times and knew there was no way out. He went on to claim the WBO world lightweight title with a split decision over Zahir Raheem, but that fight was a snoozefest and he lost the title in his first defense against Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz.

Freitas looked out of shape coming in to the Diaz fight and that proved to be the case as he was so gassed at the end of the eighth round that he quit on his stool. This was yet another shocker, but others (including Kostya Tszyu, Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and even Ali) had done so and the criticism this time seemed disproportionate.

Popo had grown old. It happens. Yet, against Barrios, he had proven without a doubt that he possessed the heart of a warrior.

The Brazilian boxing hero retired in 2007, but came back in 2012 and schooled and KOd the cocky Michael “The Brazilian Rocky” Oliveira. He won another fight in 2015 and though by now he was visibly paunchy, he still managed to go 10 rounds to beat Gabriel Martinez in 2017 with occasional flashes of his old explosive volleys. These later wins, though against lower level opposition, somewhat softened the memories of the Corrales and Diaz fights, both of which this writer attended at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. They would be his only defeats in 43 pro bouts.

Like Manny Pacquiao, Freitas had a difficult childhood but was determined to make a better life for himself and his family. And, like Manny, he did and he also pursued a career in politics. Whether he makes it into the Hall will depend on how much a ‘No Mas’ can count against one, but he warrants serious consideration when he becomes eligible.

As for the Hyena, on April 8, 2005, he won the WBO junior lightweight title with a fourth round stoppage of undefeated but overweight Mike Anchondo. In January 2010 he was involved in a hit and run accident in which a 20-year-old pregnant woman was killed. On April 4, 2012 Barrios was declared guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to four years in prison. He served 27 months and never fought again, retiring with a record of 50-4-1.

Ted Sares is one of the oldest active full power lifters in the world. A member of Ring 10, and Ring 4’s Boxing Hall of Fame, he was recently cited by Hannibal Boxing as one of three “Must-Read” boxing writers.

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THREE PUNCH COMBO: This past weekend, Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KO’s) returned to the ring after a little more than a year off and made surprisingly easy work of Lucas Matthysse (39-5, 36 KO’s), stopping him in round seven to win a welterweight belt. Many, including myself, thought Matthysse just may have been too much for Pacquiao at this point in Pacquiao’s career.

The old Pacquiao is back was the theme on social media following the fight, but let’s not go overboard. Something didn’t seem right with Matthysse. There is no question in my mind he came to win and gave all he had left, but he looked lethargic from the opening bell. I understand Matthysse is not the most fleet footed of boxers but he looked even slower than he has in the past. And that fearsome power was just not there. His punches had nothing behind them. Essentially, it looked like Matthysse got old. He exhibited all the signs of a shopworn fighter.

Pacquiao seemed to sense early that this was not the same Matthysse and went to work dazzling us once again. With an opponent there in front of him offering little to no resistance, Pacquiao had nothing to fear. Of course he’d look fantastic with this type of opponent and, yes, display those flashes of the Pacquiao from many years ago. But let’s not go crazy and suddenly put him back in the top pound for pound rankings or think he can compete with the sport’s cream of the crop like Vasyl Lomachenko or Terence Crawford.

Carefully matched, Pacquiao may be able to put together some more performances like he did against Matthysse. But the story will be much different if and when he faces a top fighter in the prime of his career.

ShoBox

I love the ShoBox series on Showtime and it returns this Friday with a tripleheader. The card features one of boxing’s top prospects taking a big step up in class as well as a pair of bouts that on paper appear to be very evenly matched and should be good scraps.

In the main event, fast rising welterweight prospect Jaron Ennis (20-0, 18 KO’s) takes on Armando Alvarez (18-0, 12 KO’s) in a battle of undefeated fighters. Ennis is a former top US amateur who comes into the ring riding a ten fight knockout streak. He has exceptional hand speed and good power in both fists. Ennis is also an excellent body puncher. Perhaps his best punch is the left hook downstairs which has knocked out several previous opponents.

In Alvarez, Ennis is facing a boxer-puncher with decent skills. Alvarez likes to work behind the left jab and set up combinations behind that punch. However, he really is not a big puncher, nor can he come close to matching the speed of Ennis. But Alvarez does represent a good sized step up in class for the hot prospect Ennis. It will be interesting to see how Ennis handles it and if he can impress in what is a big opportunity headlining a televised card.

Another battle of undefeated fighters takes place in the lightweight division between Thomas Mattice (12-0, 10 KO’s) and Zhora Hamazaryan (9-0, 6 KO’s). Mattice made his ShoBox debut in February and struggled mightily for quite some time against the gritty Rolando Chinea. However, in round seven of their scheduled eight round contest, Mattice rallied to hurt and stop Chinea. In that round, Mattice showed his explosive punching power and finishing ability and that makes him a prospect to monitor. But his technique and defense need improvement. He will need to show strides in these areas to beat Hamazaryan.

Hamazaryan, who is aggressive and will rely on volume, is a better version of Chinea. He may not be a one punch guy but he does possess heavy hands. Also, Hamazaryan had a solid amateur background and is much more experienced than the record indicates. He will be a good test for Mattice in a contest that is evenly matched and should be fun to watch as it plays out.

Finally, we have Montana Love (11-0, 5 KO’s) taking on Kenneth Sims Jr. (12-1, 4 KO’s) in a 140-pound contest. The southpaw Love and orthodox fighting Sims are very similar. Each possesses decent skills but limited power. They are both boxer-punchers who like to work behind the jab and will also look for countering opportunities. I see this as a very evenly matched fight between two fighters who are mirror images of one another inside the ring. It may be tactical but should be very competitive and it will be interesting to see if someone can step up to another level in this crossroads fight.

Are We Entering a Golden Age of How Boxing is Being Broadcast?

I woke up this past Saturday morning and went about my usual routine. In the morning, I scour social media and YouTube looking for what live boxing will be broadcast that day. And it almost never fails that I can find a stream of a show, a quality legal stream at that, from somewhere in the world that can fill the day until other boxing action on more traditional platforms get underway.

On this Saturday, I found a stream on YouTube of a show from Russia promoted by RCC Boxing Promotions. The card came in crystal clear and filled most of my day until the Top Rank broadcast began later that day on both ESPN+ and ESPN.  And as I was watching wall to wall boxing, I began to think to myself about how just a few years earlier such streams as the one I easily found on YouTube were tough to find. As a fan, I could only find what was shown on television and frankly the coverage of the sport in the United States was spotty at best. Finding a quality legal stream of an international card was rare and undercards of the shows that were televised in the United States were unavailable. For a die-hard fan like myself, I wanted so much more.

Today, I have more and maybe too much more. But that’s not a bad thing. The way the sport is being broadcast is changing as fans have access to more events than ever before. Promoters in the U.S. and around the world are finding ways to get their boxing cards to the masses. And there is more on the way.

This week, Eddie Hearn will be revealing more details about his digital platform for boxing in the United States. In addition, we saw an announcement earlier this month from Golden Boy and Main Events announcing an agreement with Facebook to stream live shows. The use of digital platforms to broadcast the sport is growing and I expect it will continue to grow.

In my opinion, we have entered a golden age in how the sport is being broadcast. No longer do fans in the United States have just the main HBO or Showtime card on Saturday with maybe another smaller scale show broadcast at some point earlier in the week. Fight cards in their entirety from the U.S. and around the world are regularly available via a legal digital platform. As a die-hard fan, I could not be more excited.

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