WE ARE ALL LOSERS IN THE BLUNDER THAT IS RIOS - ABRIL
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 18 Apr 2012
I cannot imagine what Richard Abril's team felt last Saturday. Not because that their ward lost a fight they have clearly won but of how to go about consoling their losing fighter. How do you tell a guy who has done everything you've asked of him in training and in the fight itself that "it's okay?" How do you tell a young boxer who has worked hard in the hopes of winning his first world title to trust the system again after being in the losing end of a match that he won in the eyes of majority who watched it? How do you explain to him that he clearly won despite that defeat, when he does not see that belt that he clearly deserved wrapped around his waist?
Boxing has been the victim of bad judgements lately. Results like those of Paul Williams vs. Erislandy Lara last year and Tavoris Cloud vs. Gabriel Campillo earlier this year dampens the spirit of not only the deserving fighter and his team but also of the fans of this sport. The feelings and reactions of disgust and disappointment that a fan feels after hearing the wrong winner's name announced is beyond description. And they have every right to be disgusted and disappointed on a sport that tames it's brutality with fairness. Every fighter despite the perceived odds between them are treated as equals when they set foot in that ring. Both have a fair chance of beating each other despite one being the favorite against the other. The underdog always has a chance to win after that bell is rung. Well, that did not apply to Lara, Campillo and now Abril.
It is hard for anyone to dispute claims of doubting fans that fights in boxing are fixed and decisions are granted in favor of a certain promoter after witnessing last Saturday's fight. It is hard to explain to them that days of the mafia having a hold in this sport are days of the past. It is hard to quell conspiracy theories that crawls in the surface of boxing after every bad decision. And how can you? Not with results like Rios-Abril.
All three in Lara, Campillo and Abril are underdogs before their fights. All three are fighting opponents with an established name in the sport. All three are up against opponents handled by a bigger promotional outfit. All three fought a fight that they clearly won in the eyes of those who watched it. All three lost. Coincidence?
Boxing is in a life support right now. It clearly does not have the following that it has in the past. There are many factors that makes the sport unappealing to others. Bad matchmaking, poor promotional buildup to fighters and fights and the perception that a fan will get something less for what he pays to watch it. But nothing drives the casual fans away from the sport more than the feeling of being cheated themselves in a sport that should reward the real winners of a fight.
Because boxing thrives in passion. Fans cheer the underdog who is putting a giant effort to win a fight that he is suppose to lose. Fans identify with a fighter giving his all during a fight as he battles a stronger, more popular and favored foe. They cheer with every punch he scores against a formidable champion. They cringe once the favorite reasserts himself with scoring blows of his own. They hold their breath after ten or twelve rounds of a hard fought fight hoping that the right boxer's hands will be raised as a winner, just because he truly deserves it. That is the beauty of boxing. And to take that away from a fan with an unjust result such as that against Richard Abril is truly frustrating. Because like the fighters that were deprived of a fair decision, the fans are deprived of one as well.
It is long due for boxing and those that are involved in it to remedy bad judging in boxing. New Jersey went as far as suspending the three judges that oversaw the Williams- Lara bout. It was an unusual step in the sport but a much needed one. It is not a bad idea that the Nevada Commission take a look at last Saturday's Abril-Rios bout and come up with measures that will at least prevent this from happening. It does not necessarily mean suspending them but please do something, anything! They do not just owe this to the fighters who risk their life in the ring but to the fans of the sport that supports it and in return supports them as well.
While conspiracy theories in boxing are just plain that, conspiracy theories. The bad decision that is the result of Abril-Rios is a plain fact. It is a result of human error and one that necessitates remedy from the sport. Ignoring it is a bigger blunder in itself.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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