The Fall and Rise (?) of Paul Williams
Saturday, July 9th, 2011 - 9:25pm
Erislandy Lara has just defeated Paul Williams in what was to be Williams' comeback fight after a devastating knockout loss at the hands of Sergio Martinez. Lara masterfully timed his left hand against the taller south-paw and landed them seemingly at will throughout the 12-round bout.
The HBO commentators were pontificating on whether Paul Williams should retire after this embarrassing loss throughout the later rounds and the unofficial scorekeeper, Harold Lederman only found two rounds to give to Williams by the fight's end.
The collective disgust felt by boxing fans was almost palpable when a majority decision was announced in favor of.......Paul Williams.
W H A T ? !
I was already a little sickened when the first scorecard was read as 114-114, a draw. I couldn't fathom what kind of idiot saw that fight as close, much less a tie. Then as the other scorecards were read I felt a little relief, although they seemed a little too close as well, considering the one-sided victory for Lara that I had just witnessed. It turns out, the idiot who saw it as a draw was the smartest idiot of the group. How sad for boxing.
It is these such decisions that sour die-hard boxing fans and perpetuate the opinion by many that the sweet science is filled with fixed outcomes. We as fans should boycott heinous judges by being vocal about our dislike for them. Boo them at the fights - write letters to the sanctioning bodies - I don't know...something!!
A list of names that consistently get brought up when discussing horrible judges:
Glen Hamada (scored it 115-111 for Vic Darchinyan vs Abner Mares and had Katsidis beating Diaz, among his worst offenses)
Ken Morita (famously had Douglas losing to Tyson going into the 10th round)
Gale Van Hoy (Texan who has been accused many times of accepting bribery $$)
Adalaide Byrd (Hated equally in MMA)
Doug Tucker (thankfully retired)
Patricia Morse Jarman (Campillo vs Shumenov II - saw it as a Shumenov victory)
Jerry Roth (too many to mention)
and now, Hilton Whitaker III (Williams vs Lara, Judah vs Matthysse)
Somehow, boxing judges need to be rated, with points taken away for horrible decisions. Penalties, even. And eventual boycotts. The bad seeds are an embarrassment to the sport and need to be extricated. It's ridiculous.
Back to Paul Williams:
One friend offered a shared perspective by stating that the last legitimate win by Williams was against Winky Wright in April, 2009. Think about it - the first win over Sergio Martinez was shaky, although it was a close fight. He was behind in the scorecards when Kermit Cintron inexplicably dove out of the ring during their fight and did not return, resulting in a Technical Decision Win for Williams.
We all know what happened in Williams vs Martinez II
And now this very controversial decision against the previously undefeated Erislandy Lara.
Some might say the HBO commentators and unofficial judge, Harold Lederman influenced public opinion throughout the broadcast and are responsible for a misrepresentation of what was actually happening. This has certainly been known to happen in the past, but was this fight even close? Perhaps it is too late to watch the fight 100% objectively, even with the mute button engaged, but in the interest of posterity - I will definitely do so tomorrow morning.
Your opinions and viewpoints are appreciated.