Some fight judges have stayed too long at ringside. With their minds sketchy and maybe all their motor skills fading, some pencil pushers who decide important boxing matches can be compared to older drivers who can’t concentrate on traffic conditions.
But Nevada commission judge Chuck Giampa got out at the pinnacle of his judging skills, maybe even left too early, and is now a consultant in the sport/business.
In the wake of the Erislandy Lara-Paul Williams scoring brouhaha in Atlantic City and other clearly botched, incompetent and hopefully not corrupt scoring, Giampa offers a reminder about the fallibility of all judges.
?That kid Lara was out and out robbed in that fight, he really was,? Giampa said. ?He threw more and he landed more punches. You can’t give to Williams just on his potential. I gave it to Lara by 116-112 or 117-111. It was just not close.?
In 1961, I think it was, Yankees manager Ralph Houk, who handled both Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle on a team filled with superstars had a book out entitled ?Ballplayers Are Human, Too.? I recall reading it cover to cover.
If Giampa penned a book, it might be called ?Fight Judges Are Human, Too.?
SEE GIAMPA’S IMPRESSIVE, FIGHT JUDGING RESUME, COURTESY OF BOX REC.
The longtime Las Vegan even gives a most personal example.
?There is no doubt we still badly need more uniformity, more consistency in judging the fights,? Giampa said. ?We need to have judges more accountable for their scores. Fighters should not be getting decisions because of their reputations and that is true whether the guy’s name is Paul Williams or Roy Jones. You’re supposed to score every bout like it’s Smith versus Jones and not Smith versus Roy Jones.?
Giampa said, though, that the human condition is always a factor. Judges are not metallic robots.
?I got a fight wrong in the UK and it cost me an assignment for the Frank Bruno-Mike Tyson bout. The fight was Nigel Benn, the British star, against (Thulani) Malinga and it was a split decision.”
Chuck Williams had winner Benn in front 118-109 and judge Omar Mintun favored Malinga, 115-111.
Giampa, who started judging in 1985 and retired in 2010, saw Benn a 114-112 victor. The bout took place in Newcastle Upon Thyne on March 2, 1996.
?I admitted it, I got the winner right but had a wrong scorecard.
“My mother had just died and we had a malpractice lawsuit against the doctor who treated her. I scored two rounds wrong and got the points total wrong and I knew it afterwords.
?I even spoke to (San Francisco Chronicle) boxing writer Jack Fiske and admitted to him I got the seventh and eight rounds wrong in the fight. For my personal reasons, I was not focused like I should’ve been.
?I called up (famed ref and also a Reno court judge) Mills Lane and told him my error. Mills told me to just admit I got it wrong and move ahead, so that is what I did. But because of the controversy in England, Marc (Ratner) did not assign me to Tyson-Bruno. He thought it might cause more controversy,? Giampa said. ?I’d have to say that Marc was right on that one.?
