“I can tell you for a fact that the promoters and the associates of the promoters and the agents and the managers have relationships with these different organizations and these judges. They have familiarity at the very least. They have dinner together; they take them out to dinner. There is all kinds of favoring going on and you’re going to tell me that doesn’t mix into the equation here; that there is a possibility, with those kinds of relationships, that there is not favoritism going on? That there is not favors being bantered out there where the managers and promoters are entertaining these different promoters and stuff? You’re telling me that that doesn’t come into play when they know that that’s this promoter’s guy fighting, who fed them dinner and entertained them all week? Are you kidding me? Of course it does. I have been to places, Europe and everywhere, where there are dinners that cost $3,000 to $5,000 with the best of wine, the best of caviar, the best of lobster, and the best steaks, and then sitting right there are the referees and the officials who are going to be doing the fight the next day. And who is the host of the party? Who is picking up the tab? The promoter and it’s absurd. It’s absurd and that’s why I know that it’s not just incompetence. Incompetence is bad enough, but I know that it’s not just incompetence. I know there is corruption that has shown it’s head in these kind of situations,” stated ESPN commentator and world-class trainer Teddy Atlas as he talked about the problems with bad decisions, like the one rendered in the Williams-Lara fight, and how that’s impacting the sport. In this in-depth exclusive, Atlas speaks passionately about what needs to be done to fix some of the problems like incompetent judging in order to bring boxing back to prominence. Plus, you don’t want to miss what he had to say about Alexander Povetkin’s upcoming clash with Ruslan Chagaev, as Atlas is unsure of whether or not he’ll be training the young undefeated heavyweight for his first world title shot.
