By Sean Jones: In surprising news, the World Boxing Association has given judge Carlos Sucre a temporary suspension after he turned in the wide 117-111 score in favor of Juan Francisco Estrada in what appeared to be a close fight against Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez last Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Interestingly, Sucre scored the last five rounds to Estrada from the 8th to the 12th. Estrada was badly hurt in the 12th round by Chocolatito, and you couldn’t miss that. He was clearly hurt by Chocolatito in that final round, and how could Sucre miss that? I had Chocolatito winning the last four rounds from the 9th on.
It’s hard to fathom how Sucre scored the last five for Estrada, as Chocolatito had taken over the fight at that point. Estrada’s corner was so worried for him in the championships that they told him he needed a knockout to win.
WBA president Gilberto Mendoza says he’s going to have the Committee “evaluate” the Estrada vs. Chocolatito 2 fight to see their view is of the contest is. Mendoza’s said Sucre’s score was “misguided.” Sucre will be able to explain his rationale for scoring the fight 117-111.
The suspension won’t change the 117-111 score that was turned in by Carlos Sucre. Yeah, he’s suspended, but Chocolatito still lost his world title.
A suspension of the judge would have more meaning if his 117-111 score were erased and the results of the fight ruled either a draw or a no-contest. Without the 117-111 score, the Estrada-Gonzalez 2 fight is a draw.
You have to wonder what the results would have been had there been a different judge working instead of Sucre.
Gilberto Jesus Mendoza’s statement on Sucre’s suspension:
“I asked the Officials Committee to evaluate the fight although I think it is not necessary. It was a great fight, very close. We have to respect “Gallo” Estrada, who made a great effort. In this case, the judges favored him, however.
“I sent a temporary suspension while Sucre is heard because big shows and fights like this one do not deserve the kind of score he gave. His decision was misguided yesterday,” said Mendoza.
There’s been a huge backlash over the 117-111 turned in from Sucre last Saturday night for the El Gallo Estrada vs. Gonzalez fight by fans, many of which were appalled at such a bizarre score for a fight that was close.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who promoted Estrada, said he would like to set-up a rematch between him and Chocolatito. Hearn said he had Chocolatito winning the fight based on him taking the 12th round.
Hearn had the fight essentially even going into the 12th, and Chocolatito rocked Estrada a couple of times in the round.
With that said, for the immediate rematch to happen, Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs) will likely need to vacate his WBC title because his mandatory is due against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Hearn says the Estrada – Chocolatito 3 fight is more important than any of the belts, and he’s right. The fans don’t care about all the titles that will be on the line for a third fight.
Boxing fans want to see Estrada and Chocolatito fight again. The two champions threw for a combined 2,593 punches last Saturday night, and that’s one of the highest punch totals in a long time.