People who need to shut up immediately and other notes, observations as we head into the Wednesday after the Saturday in which Manny Pacquiao was a victim of boxing grand larceny: What really makes me sick is not incompetent judging but the media dilettantes who only write about boxing when they think they something scandalous. You know who you are. Go away, go away mad but just go away… I could be wrong but I thought I saw Tim Bradley fighting with all his heart, not sitting in a ringside chair with a notepad and pencil scoring each round… Let’s not let the righteous indignation, the meaningful outrage over Tim Bradley winning a split decision over Pacman, obscure this fact: Jerry Roth got it right, even though he only favored the Pinoy Idol 115-113. Roth did not unjustly give the verdict and the WBO title to Bradley. I know, I know, he did get it wrong in April tabbing Brandon Rios a 116-112 “winner” over Richard Abril. But, over the decades and through hundreds of fights, Roth has a great “batting average.” I still consider him one of the top five or 10 American fight judges… Having given the 71 year old Roth his historical props, what other sport uses two officials (74 year old Duane Ford) with a combined age of 145 years? You won’t see that in the NBA, NHL, MLB or the NFL, that’s for sure… Speaking of Abril getting robbed against Bam Bam, why was Adalaide Byrd, who got that one right with a 117-111 Abril tally, NOT REWARDED with a Bradley-Pacman assignment?… I think lawyer Keith Kizer is a fine fellow and all that but why doesn’t Nevada take a real boxing man like Joe Cortez, physically shot as a ref now, and make him Executive Director? It says here that Cortez could do a great job in that capacity… Nveada has Chairman Skip Avansino and commissioners Pat Lundvall, Francisco Aguilar, TJ Day and Bill Brady. Which commissioners have any boxing experience, any at all before the governor put them on the board? None, zero, zip, nada…but they all gave money or otherwise helped a governor get elected. Each commissioner is a successful businessperson and/or lawyer but all of them have to learn on the job and that is a shame… Nevada needs to stop being so provincial and go back to letting qualified refs and judges from elsewhere work world title bouts in Las Vegas. The state used to do it all the time but, in a pissing contest with the WBC’s leader Don Jose Sulaiman, Nevada decided to seal its boxing borders. Bad move, one which must be undone asap. Bring in Julie Lederman, Glenn Feldman, Steve Weisfeld and other proven USA judges. Also look to the best judges from Mexico and from Canada… Nevada should pay all its refs and judges an annual salary, officially designate each one as Tier 1 or Tier 2, and use only the top-rated ones in key world title bouts. That would take pressure off the best judges because they would know what their fight income will be… Those hardworking NSAC inspectors who have to make sure there are no loaded handwraps and other cheating in the dressing rooms? They get a paltry $75 per show, which is a joke… Look on the bright side, fight fans. The Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel has apparently been more keen on washing money in horse racing than in infecting boxing…
