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WBO President Paco Valcarcel rejects the suggestion of six judges to oversee the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk duel / Photo: Evening Standard
WBO President Paco Valcarcel rejected the idea of six judges overseeing the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk duel. According to him, the proposal will not add anything to the sport of boxing.
The proposal regarding the request for six judges to be at ringside to oversee the undisputed heavyweight unification fight on May 18 2024 emerged from World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman. Sulaiman tried to explain the reasons for the new judging system in his latest WBC column.
“Boxing is one of the few sports that determines the winner through the subjective assessment of officials, called judges. In our sport, three judges judge an action, and this is done round by round. In essence, each round is a very different fight from another . Boxers don't know what the judges are scoring, unlike diving or gymnastics.”
“Boxing judges have an unenviable job, as they are rarely recognized until there is a controversial decision. Then, they can be considered corrupt, blind, incompetent, and even criminal if their performance is deemed inadequate. The differences between the judges' assessments and those of others are numerous variables, which may ultimately determine differences of opinion.”
Regarding the boxing judge controversy, Sulaiman tried to explain the formula. He said there are many things that ordinary fans don't know about the official criteria for points-scoring actions in boxing.
Judges are trained and certified to achieve uniformity in what they must see, understand, process, and value. The most important thing for a boxer is to relate the blows, their quality over quantity, their effectiveness and the effect of their impact.
“The style that dominates the round is also taken into consideration, who manages to impose his style on the opponent. The final criterion is pure aggressiveness. Missed punches, punches that land with gloves, or in illegal areas do not count. Effective aggressiveness is paramount, regardless of whether You move forward, take a sideways step, or even step back, but connectedness is something to consider.
“Knockdowns are very important and should represent additional points for the fighter who does them. In other words, a round with a knockdown should result in a score of 10-8 unless the knocked down fighter has been overwhelmingly dominant throughout the round. A knockdown is like a goal, a home run , or touchdown,” explained Sulaiman.
But the WBO President actually rejected the proposal of six judges in the Fury vs Usyk fight. Valcarcel emphasized that three judges were enough to determine the course of the fight.
“This topic has been discussed among the sanctioning organizations. I am not sure the proposal will add anything to the sport of boxing because the judges must be competent, and three judges are enough,” said Valcarcel, quoted by World Boxing News (WBN), Sunday ( 3/24/2024).
When asked if he would agree to this proposal if it came to a vote, Valcarcel: “No, I would not.” If the WBO does not agree, it is unlikely that the WBC will be able to pass a new assessment process. Because these four organizations have to participate in such a big system change.
(fly)