Which boxing decision stunk out the joint the most in 2009?
When it comes to deciding the Robbery of the Year in boxing, it’s never a good thing for the sport, its fans or its fighters when there are many candidates to choose from. Unfortunately, in 2009 there was a veritable cornucopia of fights to choose between. In 2009, there was lots of good in boxing, but there was certainly plenty of bad and a heaping portion of ugly. Here’s the worst robbery of the year in the sport.
The Sergio Martinez vs. Kermit Cintron Draw is the Robbery of the Year in 2009
Usually when a fight ends in a draw, you can reasonably justify the outcome. Maybe either guy could have won by a point or two, or maybe they fought so evenly, the “fair” thing seems to be an even result. But when a fight should not have even gone to the scorecards, and then a bogus decision is given as the result, the robbery is all the worst.
Sergio Martinez won his fight against Kermit Cintron on several occasions. He knocked his man down, and had him counted out. He then should have won a clear decision, in a fight he dominated, when the bout unthinkably continued on after its legitimate ending point. Mixed in was an unjustifiable point deduction which enabled the draw to be rendered.
Somehow after Cintron was knocked out, he convinced the referee that a head butt had caused the blow, and that the knockout just shouldn’t count. Somehow the referee obliged, and allow the fight to continue. Somehow two of the judges thought Cintron won enough rounds to warrant an even scorecard given the point deduction. That’s way too many somehows, and it’s a terrible outcome for a fighter in Martinez who put on an excellent performance.
Robbery of the Year Runner Up: Ali Funeka vs. Joan Guzman
In any other year, the Ali Funeka vs. Joan Guzman bout would have undoubtedly been the Robbery of the Year. Once again, it is a rare occasion of a draw simply being completely unreasonable. Ali Funeka dominated the fight. Not just dominated with flashy punches or with work rate, he dominated the bout and busted up a game Joan Guzman in the process.
This is a fight where you walk to the bathroom or to the kitchen after the fight is over, because the reading of the scorecards is such an inevitability that it need not capture 100%, or any, of your attention. But somehow, inexplicably, two judges had even 114-114 scorecards. The hard knocks continue for Funeka, who had previously dropped a close contest to Nate Campbell via Majority Decision.
Of course, it doesn’t end there. More questionable fights in 2009 included the first contest between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi, and the first contest between Chris John and Rocky Juarez.
Make sure you check out the rest of the 2009 Boxing Awards from ProBoxing-Fans.com. It’s the best way to recap the entire up and down, crazy year in boxing. And if you agree or disagree with any of the recipients, let us know in the comments!
