By Jamie Eskdale: In recent weeks we’ve seen for lack of a better phrase some questionable judging in big fights. Having let the dust settle and watch the outrage subside a little I thought now would be the time to write about these types of decisions and why they keep happening.

On September 7th in Glasgow, Scotland UK we had the WBO featherweight title fight between Home fighter Ricky Burns and challenger Raymundo Beltran.

Beltran dominated throughout outworking, out-landing, was the aggressor throughout, controlled the action, put the champion down in the 8th and even broke his jaw yet was rewarded with a draw. Scandalous doesn’t even begin to describe it. Now I must credit the champion Burns at this point. How on earth he managed to get through 10 rounds with a broken jaw was incredible and to offer a rematch immediately afterwards show his class.

In the aftermath of the fight I awaited some sort of statement from the WBO, I waited in vain and the only information I could find on them was of some back slapping event where they were crowing about how much money they were making in sanctioning fees and the like.

When in fact they should have been talking of sanctions against the judging, arranging a rematch and an apology to the challenger, not a word of it. And this basically sums it up.

If they had any integrity they would have forced a rematch but they were more interested in money and herein lies the problem. Boxing we are constantly told is a business. Boxers are trying to make money in a relatively short window. I’ve absolutely no problem with this and agree that boxers deserve every bit of money they earn and more. But what about the guys who are shafted?

Constantly on the end of these types of decisions, don’t they have to earn money as well? Of course they do and sometimes this side of it is conveniently ignored.

Paulie Malignaggi made a comment after his split decision defeat to Adrien Broner that the connected fighter always gets the decision and how right he was. Malignaggi was speaking from the heart in the heat of the moment and later retracted his statement slightly but the impact was made regardless.

In the case of the Burns fight Burns would have to be classed as the connected fighter. He was the champ, the home fighter and it was his promoters’ show. The big problem I feel with all of this is the way it is so readily accepted. The same old lines are trotted out fight after fight. ‘That’s boxing, he was the challenger, he was fighting in the champ’s backyard, politics’. All the BS that is now acceptable.

After the initial reaction to the Burns – Beltran draw subsided it now seems as though it is just consigned to history.

With the likely scenario being a rematch. And it must be pointed out again that the WBO have been deafening with their silence and it isn’t through them that a rematch is being talked about.

So in essence the WBO messed up in the first place with their incompetent judges yet they stand to make even more money in sanctioning fees!

Then a week later we had the mega fight on 14th September in The MGM grand in Las Vegas between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. You don’t need me to tell you how the fight panned out. Mayweather dominated and a case could be made for him winning every round. So how on earth could C J Ross have scored the fight 114-114? Seriously what on earth was she watching? And with such a glaring lack of competence how could she have gotten anywhere near a fight of such magnitude.

Afterwards it came to light that she also scored the Pacquaio Bradley fight 115-113 to Bradley. Which makes her presence at the Mayweather fight even more alarming.
Look we all know boxing is subjective and sometimes we all disagree on certain fights but there is a clear scoring system in place and we shouldn’t see anywhere near the amount of scandal we do see.

Even in fights that are close be it domestically or in a big fight that could go either way you know before the scores are read out who will win. Generally it’s the guy with the big promoter and the big backing who win.

So the question must be asked, in an era where it seems that more of the big fights we want to see are actually being made is it going to be a case were some of these fights will be soured by incompetent or sinister judging?
We all love boxing, that’s the reason we are on these websites and forums to talk of the sport we love. However we should be under no illusions that boxing in the mainstream is a minority sport.

So how can we expect the sport to gain respect and credibility with this sort of shambolic judging?
These Judges and the governing bodies who appoint them should be made an example of to show everyone that it is a serious sport and integrity and sportsmanship take precedence of money.

For this to happen there would need to be some sort of independent panel overseeing everything, governing even.
Now I know there are various different state commissions and the like but this would need to be bigger to have the desired impact. Will this happen? Most likely not so we will probably just have to put up with it and be prepared to hear the phrase ‘that’s boxing’ a lot more.