By John F. McKenna (McJack): Every time there is poor officiating in a major boxing match it drives another nail in the coffin of boxing in the United States. Boxing in the USA has had problems in the past with bad decisions and that trend continues to get in the way of a rebirth in boxing.

Unfortunately some of the poor officiating has been in states where there are casinos and gambling runs rampant. If there is one thing boxing commissions need to guard against is the illusion that officials are not rendering honest decisions, or not adequately enforcing the rules when it comes to fouls.

Even the perception by boxing fans that officials are tainted by the ugly brush of corruption could spell the death knell for boxing. Let’s face it boxing fans are the lifeblood of boxing. They are the ones who put the money down to watch a fight either on ESPN, HBO, Showtime, or at a boxing venue. No one suffers more than the boxers themselves who train for months and literally put their lives on the line in a fight. To think that a fighter who makes his living in a brutal sport like boxing is being cheated out of victory due to incompetence or corruption is incomprehensible. The difference between winning and losing can make a huge difference in the financial reward for a fighter.

Most recently incompetency by boxing official has caused quite a stir in boxing. A particularly poor decision in Atlantic City resulted in the judging panel being suspended by the boxing commission, although it is clear that the suspended judges had no business judging a fight in the first place.

This past weekend a firestorm erupted when referee Russell Mora allowed Abner Mares to land numerous low blows in his match with Joseph Akebo. Mares was not penalized and he won the fight. It did not give boxing fans a warm fuzzy feeling to know that Don King is the promoter for Mares. That is not to say that the fix was in, but it sure does not look good.

Suspending judges and referees is not enough. A full scale investigation is called for. For the commissions to perform the investigation is like leaving the fox in charge of the chicken coop. This one requires a full congressional investigation. Fighters and boxing fans deserve nothing less.