WBC President Jose Sulaiman says had open scoring been used in the Pacquiao-Marquez bout last Saturday, the current controversy could have been avoided. ?The WBC has a regulation that they don?t want to apply in the United States and that is to announce scores after the fourth and eighth rounds. If this was done, we wouldn?t have this scandal,? he stated. Open scoring will be one of the priorities to be discussed during the WBC Annual Convention, which will be held in Las Vegas on December 11-17. For the last five years, the organization has been announcing the score after the fourth and eighth rounds in most countries, which they argue gives the fans in the arena, those watching on television, and most importantly the boxers themselves the opportunity to know how they stand in the fight in order to adjust their strategy and efforts.
Among the backers of open scoring:
Lennox Lewis: I love the rule. We, as fighters, want to know what the judges are scoring.
Erik Morales: Boxing is the only sport in which the athlete is completely unaware of the score. It is a great rule.
Toshiaki Nishioka: This rule gives much needed transparency in scoring, and I fully support it.
?We believe that all of those countries or local boxing commissions that do not accept the use of this rule should thoroughly evaluate its great benefits, which have been proven since its implementation in 2006,? stated Sulaiman.
The argument against open scoring is that a fighter who knows he has compiled an insurmountable lead could happily give away the late rounds and still coast to victory.
In the case of Pacquiao-Marquez, the Marquez corner guessed that their fighter was way ahead on the cards and advised him accordingly. With open scoring they would have known after the eighth round the bout was tied on two cards and Pacquiao was ahead by two on the third card.
