If ever attend a live boxing event at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, please make sure to sample Wolfgang Puck’s tasty dishes at Lupo, dance the night away at Rum Jungle, spend a leisurely afternoon at their simulated beach and wave machine, and of course, please do spend a few dollars shooting dice and playing cards.
When you enter the arena to watch the fight, keep both hands close to your purses and wallets because apparently the area is full of thieves.
Last night Steve Forbes selected “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurhythmics as his entrance song. Little did Forbes know that sweet dreams would turn into nightmares as the not so honorable judges for his bout with Demetrius Hopkins jobbed him of a hard earned win.
Forbes controlled much of the action, pushing the fight, and landing some masterfully placed body shots. My scorecard had Forbes winning 117 to 103 and most, if not all, ring side writers has Forbes as the winner of the bout.
When the final scores were read as 118-100 (twice) and 117-111 for Hopkins, the heavily Latino crowd rang out in unison with cat calls and the predictable chants of “bullshit, bullshit.”
It is on thing to rob a fighter via split decision, or by a close decision, but the fistic grand larceny pulled by judges Robert Hoyle, Glenn Trowbridge, and Dalby Shirley is inexcusable.
What saddens me the most is that a game and likeable guy like Forbes took the decision in a professional and mature manner after the fight, but weeks and months from now fans will forget about the injustice dished out by the hands of either…a) incompetent or b) crooked judges. All aficionados will remember is that Forbes lost to up and comer Demetrius Hopkins.
To make matters worse the bout that followed was a tight twelve round scrap between super bantamweights Daniel Ponce De Leon and Gerry Pe?alosa. I had the bout even at the end of the action, some ringside observers had De Leon winning by a round or two, and others had Pe?alosa as the winner by a few points.
Again, when the scores were read 119-109, 120-108, and 119-109 for Ponce De Leon, there were more an a few flustered reporters. As for fans, no complaints from the majority, as Ponce being of Mexican decent was widely supported. Nobody minds a robbery in boxing, if it goes your fighter’s way.
Fan who watched from home and dished out pay per view fees to witness these eyebrow raising scenarios will only further question the legitimacy of one of the world’s greatest, if not the greatest sport.
Many heart warmed thank yous to judges Robert Hoyle, Glenn Trowbridge, Dalby Shirley, Chuck Giampa, Dave Moretti, and Nelson Vazquez for further cheapening a sport where the participants risk their lives.
