I watched the highly anticipated Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Marco Antonio Barrera boxing match that escalated into a brawl. I was entertained and thoroughly enjoyed the bout. I saw the controversy at the end of the 7 th round, where a fighter was essentially deducted a point for knocking down his opponent. Both fighters seemed equal in skill, speed, agility and punching power. I awaited the decision, expecting a draw, a split decision or at least a real close one or two point decision to go in either direction.
First, congratulations to Marquez for his big win, he earned it. He fought hard and I mean no disrespect towards the decision to award him the bout however one judge had it 118-109 while the other two judges had the fight scored 116-111. Really? I have no problem with Marquez winning, in fact with his aggressiveness and power punches I felt he deserved it, but it was a close fight, a real close fight.
Disagreeing with judges, referees and official scorers is as old a tradition as the sports themselves. I would not count disagreeing with a judge's decision as a controversy. The 7 th round knockout/not a knockout could have been a monumental error. Controversy may be what boxing needs. Controversy creates discussion, it gets fans talking, and it gets writers writing and it gets no-talent columnists like me thinking. I was thinking, maybe all this controversy is just a taste of what boxing needs. A down to the wire controversial decision by the judges is what leads to great rivalries and it leads to a highly anticipated rematch. The fight was great; the decision was fine, the rematch will be better. The only problem that I had was with the lopsided nature of some of the scorecards. Then again, what do I know?
Here is the opinion of someone whom we can all trust when it comes to boxing. Boxing Analyst Emmanuel Stewart said after the fight, "I have given up on the judges." So have I.
Fight Notes:
- Thank you HBO. I would choose Stewart over Lennox Lewis every single time, at least when it comes to color commentary.
- Who was thinking about the end of Rocky 3 when Mosley mentioned he was traveling to Puerto Rico to spar with the Golden Boy himself. I can see Oscar & Shane running on the beach hugging. Anyone know who won that bout between Creed and Balboa?
Larry Merchant Quote of the Week:
"It's almost like the lion has started to chew on grass... instead of becoming a car-ni-vore..... Carnivore." Larry Merchant, 3/17/07
