The easiest way the Erislandy Lara-Paul Williams fight scoring fiasco could have been prevented in Atlantic City would have been to make a more careful selection of judges.
Now that New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Chairman Aaron M. Davis has, to his credit, come out and indefinitely suspended Hilton Whitaker Jr., Donald Givens and Al Bennett for getting the winner wrong (Williams got an undeserved majority decision), it?s past time for the ring regulators in the Garden State to overhaul their whole officiating system.
While not impugning their integrity, I don?t think anyone in boxing has ever touted Whitaker, Givens or Bennett as being among the country?s top 12 fight judges.
Only the absolute best judges should be handling HBO, Showtime and/or PPV main events with all the money at stake therein.
New Jersey would not have suffered this ?black eye? in the HBO bout if David had simply tabbed Julie Lederman, Glen Feldman and Clark Sammartino, three veteran judges who all got the excellent Vicious Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto bout at Foxwoods in April right. I know Julie, daughter of HBO unofficial judge Harold Lederman, often works in New Jersey. Feldman is a Connecticut guy and Sammartino is from neighboring Rhode Island but there?s no reason the two New Englanders could not have been imported for a bit of Amtrak tickets gas money and/or hotel rooms.
I?m not saying that trio is perfect but they are proven performers. And what about New Jersey?s Steady Eddie judge, Steven Weisfeld? Why wasn?t he picked for Lara-Williams?
Here?s Davis? sound statement (Newark Star-Ledger) on the suspensions:
Advertisement
?This agency has placed all three judges on indefinite suspension,? Davis said in a statement. ?Further, all three judges will be required to undergo additional training prior to their return to professional boxing judging.
?Any contestant who enters a ring or cage in our state deserves the best officiating that we can provide. While we do not mean to diminish Mr. Williams? competitive spirit and exciting style, we feel that we did not provide our best officiating on July 9.?
Kudos to Davis for not playing ostrich and sticking his head in the sands along AC?s motley boardwalk.
Another problem I see in New Jersey is overwork of judges.
For example, Whitaker, Bennett and Givens judged all five bouts on this particular show.
On recent cards held in Newark, the same three judges worked every match on those shows. A card held at the Robert Treat Hotel on June 22 consisted of eight bouts and Whitaker, Larry Layton and Luis Rivera judged all eight.
That?s ridiculous.
Referees normally don?t work five or six bouts in succession and neither should pencil pushing judges.
Perhaps the suspensions will shake up and improve the judging panelists chosen in New Jersey.
IHarold Lederman scored Lara-Williams, 117-111, about the same as most ringsiders, media types and just boxing people.
But Bennett, with a draw, and his two compadres, scoring for Williams, got it wrong.
They were blind to ring justice but Davis is not.
Maybe it’s not comprehensive reform but it’s a good start.
The judges can redeem themselves and so can boxing.
