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The World Boxing Council Has Reanimated the Debate over Open Scoring

Later this month, on August 25, the semifinals of the WBC welterweight tournament will be held in Toronto. South Africa’s Chris Van Heerden (26-2-1) meets Ghana’s Fredrick Lawson (27-1) in one of the co-featured bouts. Mexico’s Francisco Santana (25-6-1) opposes Brad Solomon (28-1) of Douglasville, Georgia, in the other.
The WBC tourney, staged in conjunction with Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Promotions, kicked off on April 27 in Louisville. Eight invitees participated in a poor man’s version of the World Boxing Super Series.
The promotion had several unconventional coils built into the scaffolding. There were five judges instead of three. Four of the judges sat ringside. The other was positioned in front of a TV monitor with the sound off. Their scorecards were revealed at the midpoint of the bout (between rounds five and six) so that the fighters and their handlers and those in the arena and those watching on television were apprised of who was leading and to what degree. However, the names of the judges were kept anonymous.
These twists appeared to go off without a hitch. Indeed, there was virtually no commentary, pro or con, on social media.
The argument for open scoring in boxing is as old as the hills. In what other sport are the competitors and fans kept in the dark until the competition is finished?
The clamor for it was especially loud after the March 13, 1999 fight between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield.
All of the meaningful belts were at stake when Lewis and Holyfield squared off at Madison Square Garden in the first heavyweight title unification fight in six years. When the final bell sounded, most everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that the decision would go to Lewis. The verdict, a split draw, elicited howls of protest and sparked six investigations, most aimed at IBF-appointed judge Eugenia Williams, a 48-year-old Newark municipal clerk. She had it 115-113 for Holyfield, even giving Evander the fifth round, which many thought was Lewis’s best round of the fight.
The sport’s top promoters, Don King and Bob Arum, joined the chorus for open scoring. Six weeks after the Lewis-Holyfield fiasco, Don King promoted a show in Washington, DC, that featured three local fighters — Keith Holmes, Mark Johnson, and Sharmba Mitchell – in world title fights. Holmes challenged Hacime Cherifi for the WBC middleweight title. Johnson met Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (aka Chaiya Pothang) for the vacant IBF super flyweight strap, and Mitchell defended his WBA 140-pound title against Reggie Green.
The scores were announced after every round of the Mitchell-Green fight and after the fourth, eighth, and final rounds of the other two. (That Don King was able to get all three sanctioning bodies plus the D.C. commission on board with his requisition for open scoring spoke reams about his sway over the sport.)
Keith Holmes rendered the open scoring experiment moot when he stopped his opponent in the seventh round. The other bouts went the distance. Johnson was quick to establish his superiority over Vorapin and won lopsidedly. Mitchell won a majority decision over Green, but the fight wasn’t really that close. After 10 rounds, Mitchell was comfortably ahead on two of the scorecards and coasted home.
This was a test case and when it was evaluated the verdict wasn’t favorable. Updating the scorecards and getting the results posted in the one-minute interval between rounds was challenging. Proponents of open scoring thought it would generate more excitement as fighters trailing on the scorecards pulled out all the stops in a last-ditch effort to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but it was just as likely to elicit boredom as fighters went into a shell to protect a comfortable lead as happened in the Mitchell-Green fight. The IBF supervisor in attendance noted that open scoring seemed to encourage fans to leave early, depressing sales at the concession stands.
All three organizations decided to abandon the experiment, but that didn’t stop Bob Arum from beseeching the Nevada commission to implement open scoring for his forthcoming fight on May 8, 1999, between Erik Morales and Juan Carlos Ramirez. Arum stood before the commission and exhausted an hour arguing his case. Open scoring, he said, would lift boxing out of the medieval age. But the commission wasn’t buying it. Notoriously churlish when things don’t go his way, a disgruntled Arum said, “If these guys (the commissioners) were the Pope, Catholics would still be eating fish on Friday.”
Arum had no chance because the commissioners knew that NSAC executive secretary Marc Ratner, the de facto head of the commission, was opposed. “One of my favorite moments in sports,” said Ratner, “is when the announcer gets up and says ‘and still champion’ or ‘and new champion.’” Lou DiBella, who then held the post of senior vice president for HBO Sports, didn’t like it either. Open scoring, he said, “doesn’t stop a crime from being committed; it just lets people see it while it is happening.”
Open scoring was revived for the 2013 fight at the San Antonio Alamodome between WBC 154-pound champion Canelo Alvarez and his WBA counterpart, Austin Trout. The scores were announced after the fourth and eighth rounds. South African judge Stanley Christodoulou, one of the sport’s most experienced arbiters, had an off night. Those tuning in to the Showtime telecast thought his scorecard was an outrage.
Showtime commentator Al Bernstein scored the fight a draw. His colleagues Steve Farhood and Paulie Malignaggi had Alvarez winning by a slim margin. All three official judges had Alvarez winning too, but Christodoulou’s card (118-109) invited censure for being far too extreme. He had Canelo winning each of the first eight rounds, after which the Mexican superstar took his foot off the pedal. And because Austin Trout lacked a knockout punch, divulging the scores after round eight ought to have been prefaced with a spoiler alert.
“We were robbed of the possibility of seeing any late-round magic,” wrote Brian Mazique in Bleacher Report. “The right man won and that is what is most important. I just wish I hadn’t found out after the eighth round.” But despite this denouement, the would-be antiseptic of open scoring just wouldn’t go away.
I’m no fan of the WBC which seemingly wants to suck a sanctioning fee out of every fight, no matter how small, and I would be opposed to the universal application of five judges as I know what a financial hardship it would work on shoestring promoters, the lifeblood of the sport. However, it strikes me that the WBC may have gotten it right this time, striking the perfect balance by giving away the scores of the judges only once during the course of a fight and not too deep into it – just a midterm report, so to speak.
What’s your take?
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More ‘Dances’ in Store for Derek Chisora after out-working Otto Wallin in Manchester

Tonight’s fight at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester between Derek Chisora and Otto Wallin bore the tagline “Last Dance.” The reference was to Chisora who at age 41 was on the cusp of his last hurrah. However, when the IBF went and certified the match as an eliminator, that changed the equation and, truth be told, Chisora would have likely soldiered on regardless of the outcome.
The UK boxing fans have embraced Chisora, an honest workman, never an elite fighter, but always a tough out. They certainly hope to see him in action again and they will get their wish. Tonight, he made more fans with a hard-earned, unanimous decision over 34-year-old Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin who went to post a small favorite.
Chisora came out fast, pressuring the Swede while keeping his hands busy. He was comfortably ahead after five rounds, but was seemingly ripe for a comedown after cuts developed above and below his right eye. Fortunately for him, he had the prominent Canadian cutman Russ Amber in his corner.
Chisora scored two knockdowns before the fight was finished. The first came in round nine when Chisora caught Wallin with a punch that landed high on his temple. In a delayed reaction, Wallin went flying backward, landing on his butt. Wallin recovered nicely and had his best round in the next frame.
Wallin appeared to be winning the final round when Chisora put the explanation point on his performance just as the final bell was about to ring, catching the Swede off-balance with a cuffing right hand that sent him to the floor once again. If not for that knockdown, there would have been some controversy when the scores were read. The tallies were 117-109, 116-110, and 114-112, the latter of which was too generous to Wallin (27-3).
“I love the sport and I love the fans,” said Derek Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs), addressing the audience in his post-fight interview. His next bout will likely come against the winner of the match between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker happening later this month in Saudi Arabia.
Semi-wind-up
Stoke-on-Kent middleweight Nathan Heaney disappointed his large contingent of rooters when he was upset by French invader Sofiane Khati. The 35-year-old Heaney, who was 18-1-1 heading in, started well and was slightly ahead after six frames when things turned sour.
Both landed hard punches simultaneously in round seven, but the Frenchman’s punch was more damaging, knocking out Heaney’s mouthpiece and putting him on the canvas. When he arose, Khati, a 6/1 underdog, charged after him and forced the referee to intrude, saving Heaney from more punishment. The official time was 1:08 of round seven. It was the sixth win in the last seven tries for Khati (18-5, 7 KOs) who, akin to Chisora, is enjoying a late-career resurgence.
Other Bouts of Note
Lancashire junior welterweight Jack Rafferty was an 18/1 favorite over Morecambe ditch digger Reece MacMillan and won as expected. MacMillan’s corner tossed in the towel at the 1:08 mark of round seven. Rafferty’s record now stands at 25-0 (16 KOs), giving him the longest current unbeaten run of any British boxer. It was the second loss in 19 starts for MacMillan.
In a lackluster performance, Zach Parker, now competing as a light heavyweight, improved his record to 26-1 (19) with a 10-round decision over France’s Mickael Diallo (21-2-2) who took the bout on five days’ notice after Parker’s original opponent Willy Hutchinson suffered a bad shoulder injury in sparring and had to withdraw. The scores were 98-92, 98-93, and 97-94.
Parker’s lone defeat came in a domestic showdown with John Ryder, a match in which he could not continue after four rounds because of a broken hand. The prize for Ryder was a date with Canelo Alvarez. Mickael Diallo has another fight booked in four weeks in Long Beach, California.
Also
Featherweight Zak Miller scored the biggest win of his career, capturing a pair of regional trinkets with a 12-round majority decision over Masood Abdulah. The judges had it 115-113, 115-114, and 114-114.
Heading in, Miller was 15-1 but had defeated only one opponent with a winning record. It was the first pro loss for Abdulah (11-1), an Afghanistan-born Londoner.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 313: The Misadventures of Canelo and Jake Paul (and More)

Avila Perspective, Chap. 313: The Misadventures of Canelo and Jake Paul (and More)
Boxing news has taken a weird arc.
For the past 20 years or so, social media has replaced newspapers, radio and television as a source for boxing news.
And one thing is certain:
You cannot truly rely on many social media accounts to be accurate. Unless they are connected to actual reputable journalists. There are not that many.
Claims of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jake Paul reaching an agreement to fight each other this year were rampant on social media sites. No contracts had been signed between the two parties, but several social media accounts claimed the fight was happening. One claimed: “it was official.”
It is not happening as of Friday Feb. 7. 10 a.m. Pacific Time.
A statement by Most Valuable Promotions was sent Friday Feb. 7, to various boxing publications that emphasized the Canelo-Paul fight is not official.
“MVP was deep in negotiations for a blockbuster fight between Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas…This situation is a reminder not to believe everything you read.”
The past few days numerous social media accounts were posting erroneously that Paul and Canelo Alvarez were fighting on a certain date and place. It was jumped on by other social media accounts like Piranhas and gobbled up and spit out as actual verified news.
Fake news is happening more and more. I hate that term but it’s becoming more common.
Many accounts on social media sites are not trained journalists. They don’t understand that being the first to spit out news is not as important as being accurate.
Also, there is no such thing as using the term “according to sources” without naming the source. Who made the claim?
Third, verification of a fight comes from the promoters. They are the most reliable methods of verifying a pending fight. It’s their job. Don’t rely on a fighter, a trainer or somebody’s friend. Call the promoter involved and they will verify.
Otherwise, it’s just rumor and exaggeration.
There are social media accounts with trained journalists. Find out which social media accounts are connected to actual news media sources and established by trained journalists. A real journalist verifies a story before it is published.
R.I.P. Michael Katz
Recently, a highly respected journalist, Michael Katz, passed away. He wrote for various newspapers including the New York Times and for various boxing web sites such as Maxboxing.com and a few others.
Katz covered prize fights beginning in 1968 with the heavyweight fight between Floyd Patterson and Jimmy Ellis. Read the full story in www.TheSweetscience.com by Arne Lang.
I first came across Katz probably in 1994 when I began covering boxing events as a writer for the L.A .Times. During media press conferences Katz was one of the more prominent writers and very outspoken.
The New York-bred Katz could tell you stories about certain eras in boxing. I happened to overhear one or two while sitting around a dinner buffet in the media rooms in Las Vegas. He always had interesting things to say.
Boxing writers come in waves during each era. Today this new era of boxing writers has dwindled to almost nothing. Writing has been overtaken by boxing videographers. The problem is during an actual fight, videographers cannot record the fight itself. The media companies sponsoring the fight cards don’t allow it. So, after a fight is completed, very few descriptions of a fight exist. Only interviews.
Written journalism is shrinking due to the lack of newspapers, magazines and periodicals. The only sure way to know what happened is by seeing the fight on tape. You won’t see many stories on a bulletin board at a boxing gym because there are fewer boxing writers today. The written history of a championship fight has shrunk to almost nothing.
Katz was one of the superb writers from the 1960s to the 2000s. It’s a shrinking base that gets smaller every day. It’s a dying breed but there are still some remaining.
Fights in SoCal
All Star Boxing returns with two female fights on the card on Saturday Feb. 8, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.
Stephanie Simon (1-0) and Archana Sharma (3-2) are scheduled to headline the boxing card in a super lightweight main event. Others on the boxing event include Ricardo De La Torre, Bryan Albarran and Jose Mancilla to name a few.
Doors open at 6 p.m. No one under 14 will be admitted. For more information call (323) 816-6200.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 10:30 a.m. Derek Chisora (35-13) vs Otto Wallin (27-2).
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Biyarslanov TKOed Mimoune at Montreal; Jalolov Conspicuous by his Absence

It was a cold and snowy night in Montreal, depressing the turnout at the Montreal Casino where Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger Promotions presented a six-fight card that aired in the U.S. on ESPN+.
The match-up that had the most intrigue, although not the main event and not expected to be remotely competitive, centered around heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov who would be returning to the professional ranks after an absence of almost 14 months during which he fattened his extraordinary amateur profile. But the Montreal Commission nixed the match, ostensibly because Jalolov took sick after the weigh-in.
Main Event
The main event was a 10-round junior welterweight contest between well-acquainted southpaws Arthur Biyarslanov (pictured) and Mohamed Mimoune. The Toronto-based, Russian-born Biyarslanov, nicknamed the Chechen Wolf, had no trouble with his 37-year-old French opponent, taking Mimoune out in the second round.
Mimoune did not appear to be badly hurt after Biyarslanov knocked him to the canvas, but he had no antidote when Biyarslanov swarmed after him. With nothing come back Biyarslanov’s way, the referee sensibly waived it off. The official time was 2:16 of round two.
Biyarslanov (18-0, 15 KOs) looks like he can make some noise in the talent-rich 140-pound division. Mimoune, who had been stopped five times previously, declined to 24-7.
Co-Feature
Albert Ramirez, a 32-year-old Venezuelan, ranked in the Top Five by all four relevant sanctioning bodies, moved a step closer to a title fight with a third-round stoppage of Marco Calic.
As an amateur, Ramirez, who improved to 20-0 (17 KOs), defeated Cuban stalwarts Erislandy Savon and Julio Cesar La Cruz in 5-round fights. Tonight, he put his opponent away with a fusillade of punches. After rising from a knockdown, Calic got a brief respite when Ramirez was warned for an illegal punch behind the head, but Cacic’s body language informed us that the end was near.
The official time was 2:10 of round three. A 37-year-old Croatian making his North American debut, Calic lost for the second time in 17 starts.
More
In a match-up between former Olympians contested at the catch-weight of 178 pounds, Montreal-based Mehmet Unal, who represented Turkey in the 2016 Games, scored a third-round stoppage of Ezequiel Maderna. The final punch was a looping right hand that knocked Maderna off his pins, leading to what some would argue was a quick stoppage. The official time was 1:41 of round three.
It was the second knockdown scored by Unal, the first coming in the previous round, a knockdown that was more of a push. But Maderna was holding his own in what was an entertaining fight for as long as it lasted. Unal, although rough-around-the-edges, is undefeated (12-0, 10 KOs) as a pro. Maderna, a 38-year-old Argentine, saw his ledger dip to 31-14.
Fast rising welterweight Christopher Guerrero scored the best win of his career with a fourth-round stoppage of Swiss journeyman Dennis Dauti. A two-time Canadian amateur champion, born in Mexico, Guerrero channeled Julio Cesar Chavez and ended the bout with a left hook to the body. Dauti made it to his feet although he was in obvious pain. Guerreo then tossed him to the canvas (officially a slip) and the referee waived it off before Guerrero (13-0, 8 KOs) had the opportunity to land another punch. The 31-year-old Dauti (25-6-2) hadn’t previously been stopped.
Super middleweight Moreno Fendero who has drawn comparisons with stablemate Christian Mbilli, had an easy workout with Edison Demaj, stopping the German-Albanian trial horse in the third round.
The 25-year-old Moreno, a former member of the French Army, scored three knockdowns before the match was halted at the 1:36 mark of the third round. The final knockdown was a looping right hand that landed high on Demaj’s temple. He beat the count, but the referee waived the match off with the approval of Demaj’s corner. Fendero improved to 9-0 (7 KOs). The overmatched Demaj falls to 13-4-1.
In the TV opener, lightweight Avery Martin-Duval, a local product, advanced to 13-0-1 (7) with an 8-round unanimous decision over French import Keshan Koaly (6-1-2) The scores were 77-74 and 77-73 twice
From Nice with roots in the French territory of Guadalupe, Koaly knocked Martin-Duval to his knees in the second frame with a jab to the midsection. Two rounds later, the local lad landed the best punch of the fight, staggering Koaly with a counter right hand that immediately caused a purplish welt to develop under his right eye. From that point on, Martin-Duval controlled the action.
Upsets are extremely rare on Eye of the Tiger events. Tonight was no exception.
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