By John F. McKenna (McJack): I have followed boxing for a long time and have seen many poor decisions rendered. The decision last Saturday night which was awarded to Paul Williams (40-2, 27 KO’s) over Erislandy Lara (15-1-1, 10 KO’s) in their title elimination bout however, was as bad as any decision this writer has ever seen.

Many boxing fans and writers agree with that assessment of the outrageous decision giving the fight to Williams.

Apparently the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Commissioner (NJSACBC) Aaron Davis also believes that it was a poor decision. Davis made the unprecedented move of suspending all three judges indefinitely.

There was some initial talk of giving the judges “training” so that in the future they would be more able to render decisions that accurately reflected what the combatants did to warrant a win. One would think that the training phase would be completed before judges were involved in such an important fight, a fight that after all, millions of boxing fans viewed on HBO.

What was most puzzling about the decision was that all three judges got it wrong.
That strains the credibility of the NJSACBC who were supposedly responsible for appointing these guys and raises many questions.

What kind of training program is in place to ensure that such a decision is not rendered?
What type of back round check is given for potential judges? What type of selection process for ring judges exists? Is there anything in place to prevent a conflict of interest between the judges and the fighter, his manager, or anyone else associated with the fighter?

These are some of the questions that need to be answered. Fans, writers and most importantly the fighter himself need to have confidence in boxing. Bad decisions will only detract from a sport that is already on the ropes.

It would seem that the only thing that can be done about last Saturday nights poor decision in Atlantic City is to roll back the decision for Williams and declare the fight a “No Contest”. To let the decision stand after suspending all three judges for giving the decision would be ludicrous. No one will benefit if the decision stands. To have a rematch and let the decision stand would be wrong.

The NJSACBC needs to take a bold step and undo the wrong that was done to Erislandy Lara last Saturday night. Commissioner Davis can be faulted for not following the rules which require that competent judges be picked to officiate in boxing matches. This issue needs to be handled quickly so that Atlantic City and New Jersey do not suffer the fallout from the Williams – Lara decision.