By John Kelvin: Over the years boxing has been blighted by controversial and downright bizarre judging in major fights. Some of the most high profile controversies include Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 2 and 3, Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley, Tommy Hearns vs. Sugar Ray Leonard 2, Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De la Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad and De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley 2 .

It is not clear what is causing these situations in which the fighter who deserves to be awarded the victory is watching his opponent pretend that he is happy to have won the fight. It could be corruption, incompetency or some combination of the two. What a lot of people do not realize is that when a boxer is denied a deserved victory because of poor judging, he loses a lot more than the fight or championship. He loses money which could potentially improve his life and the life of his family members. When a boxer is ‘robbed’, he usually has to move down a level which means he has to take more punches to the head for less money in order to try and reach the level which was denied to him by the judges. These fighters have to risk their lives for little reward because of incompetency.

The Ricky Burns Burns vs. Raymundo Beltran fight last Saturday was the latest example of judges robbing a fighter of victory in front of thousands of witnesses. Ray Beltran was the aggressor throughout the fight, landed the meaningful punches and even knocked reining champion Ricky Burns down with a left hook in the 8th round. Burns did nothing to deserve victory in the fight, all he did was throw a few jabs and right hands and then retreat to the ropes where he was squared up which allowed Beltran to land. Without Beltran no fight would have taken place.

If Burns is given the first two rounds and the last two because of the Scottish crowd, Beltran is still the clear winner even if no knockdown occurred. When the 115-112 score in favor of Burns was announced I knew that Beltran was not going to receive the decision which he worked so hard for. This is because I have seen too many fights in which the fighter with little connections is denied and the home town fighter is given a gift by the judges.

Some people are trying to suggest that because Burns fought with a broken jaw that he somehow deserved to hold onto his title. This is nonsense. Muhammad Ali went the full 15 rounds with Ken Norton after sustaining a broken jaw and no one suggested that he won the fight or that he deserved the decision. Overcoming and enduring pain is part of boxing and Burns showed great heart to complete the whole 12 rounds but that does not mean he deserved to retain the championship. Lets hope this Saturday is not the site of more judging controversy.