Mark Anthony Barriga?s stunning ?loss? in the London Olympics once again showed the corrupt side of Olympic boxing.
Ahead by two points going into the dying minutes of the third and final round of his round of 16 light flyweight matchup with Kazakhstan?s Birzhan Zhakypov, Barriga was slapped a two-point deduction by Canadian referee Roland Labbe that cost the Filipino the match. The overly sensitive Labbe penalized Barriga for head-butting while ignoring the wrestling tactics of Zhakypov, who fought as if he was auditioning for a spot in the World Wrestling Federation.
Just how ugly a sport has Olympic boxing become? Well, it used to be that the boxers were screwed by the judges. These days, even the referees are screwing the boxers.
Barriga?s setback is just one in a long list of disputed verdicts in Olympic boxing, some of which had ignited calls to ban the sport from the Olympic program.
Amateur boxing was introduced in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, United States and it did not take long for the sport to be mired in controversy.
In the 1908 London Games, Australia?s Reginald ?Snowy? Baker protested the silver medal he received after losing to John Douglas in the middleweight finals. Baker claimed that he was screwed by the referee, but his protest did not prosper despite the fact that it was duly established that the referee was Douglas? father.
In the 1928 Amsterdam Games, controversial decisions in Olympic boxing ignited brawls from spectators watching the fights. One such brawl came after American flyweight Hyman Miller was robbed of a decision in the first-round of the competitions. The entire U.S. boxing team considered pulling out of the Games but was persuaded to stay by a familiar name?Douglas MacArthur, then the president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
In the 1936 Berlin Games, lightweight Thomas Hamilton-Brown of South Africa went on an eating splurge after losing a disputed decision in his opening round match. Perhaps sensing guilt, one of the judges reversed his score and the organizers declared Brown the winner. It was too late the rescue as Brown could no longer make the fight for his next bout. The poor South African ended up being disqualified.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Games, future heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield represented the U.S. in the light heavyweight division and was forced to settle for the bronze medal after being disqualified in his semi-final match opposite Kevin Barry. Referee Gligorjie Novicic called for a ?break? in the action but Holyfield apparently did not hear the call and threw a punch which dropped Barry to the canvas. So shaken was Barry that he was declared unfit to continue. Still, Barry was declared the winner.
The worst decision in Olympic boxing, the one that almost led to the banishment of the sport, took place in the 1988 Seoul Games. In the light middleweight finals, American Roy Jones Jr. dominated every round of his match with South Korean Park Si-Hun. Unfortunately, the judges awarded Park an unbelievable 3-2 decision. How awful was the verdict? A battered Park congratulated Jones after the fight and admitted that the decision was wrong. Moreover, despite winning only a silver medal, Jones was awarded the Val Barker Trophy as the Games? most outstanding boxer.
One judge admitted that the decision was a mistake and all three judges ended being investigated. Despite evidence showing that the judges wined and dined with Korean sports officials, the International Olympic Committee allowed the contemptuous verdict to stand.
