By Mark Havey: Many people have been infuriated with the results of the scoring for Olympic boxing. You can’t help but feel bad for the boxers as they have trained so hard, for so long. Sometimes it can be difficult to score, especially with the lighter competitors. Amateur boxing is performed with speed, not power. This lack of power means the boxer who has just been punched maintains a relatively still head.
However I must admit there has been a few results during this Olympics which are hard to justify. I won’t name names as it isn’t fair on the boxer that went through. But there was one fight where I saw a clear 5 punch combination along with the odd jab here and there. the round finished and the fighter was awarded 3 points. Now I am far from a Isaac Newton, but the numbers didn’t add up. But it isn’t just fans and boxing writers who are left frustrated about the clear mistakes.
Lennox Lewis, the former undisputed heavyweight champion (41-2-1, KO’s 32) has Olympian pedigree. He fought for Canada before becoming a British citizen. In 1988 he won a gold medal. Lewis told the daily mail “’What I am concerned about is probably the judging. I would.. change the judging system. Get some judges who score all year round”.
It is a very good suggestion. Better judges seems to be the easiest and most cost effective solution. I have seen other suggestions such as censors that score fights on motion detectors. I really don’t like this idea. I feel losing the human element could result in an even more unreliable system. The is another way of scoring and it could be very good. Instead of judges scoring a fight at ring side. They score it in a back room with the added advantage of rewinds and slow motions. This would work in amateur and professional boxing.
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