WBO President Paco Valcarcel informed World Boxing News that he won’t accept any request for six judges at Fury vs Usyk.
World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman proposed having six officials ringside to oversee the undisputed heavyweight unification clash on May 18. However, when WBN asked if he liked the suggestion for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Valcarcel gave a resounding response.
“The topic has been discussed amongst the sanctioning organizations. I do not believe the proposal would add anything to the sport of boxing because judges must be competent, and three of them are enough,” Valcarcel exclusively told WBN.
Asked if he would agree to this proposal if put to a vote, Valcarcel added bluntly: “No, I will not agree.”
Sulaiman tried to explain his reasoning for a new judging system in his latest WBC column. He said: “Boxing is one of the very few sports that defines the winner through subjective appreciation of the officials, named judges.
“In our sport, three judges score the actions, and this is done round after round. In essence, each round is an entirely different fight from the other. Boxers have no idea what the judges have scored, unlike diving or gymnastics.
“The boxing judge has an unenviable job, as they are seldom recognized until there is a controversial decision. Then, they can be pointed out as corrupt, blind, incompetent, and even criminal when it is thought they performed inadequately.
The difference between a judge’s scoring and everyone else’s scores has a significant amount of variables, which, in the end, could make the difference in opinions.”
On the controversy surrounding judges in boxing, Sulaiman attempted to explain the formula.
“There are many things that the ordinary fan does not know about the official criteria for scoring actions in boxing,” he pointed out.
“Judges are trained and certified to achieve uniformity in what they should see, perceive, process, and score. The most important thing for boxers is to connect blows, quality rather than quantity, their effectiveness, and their impact effect.
“The style that dominates the round is also considered, who manages to impose their style on the opponent, and as the last criterion, is pure aggressiveness. Missed punches, blows landed on gloves, or in illegal areas do not count.
“Effective aggressiveness is what counts, regardless of whether you are going forward, taking lateral steps, or even moving backward, but connecting is what must be considered.
“Knockdowns are very important and must necessarily represent an additional point for the fighter who has inflicted this. In other words, a round with a knockdown must be scored 10-8 unless the fighter knocked down has dominated extraordinarily throughout the round.
“A knockdown is like a goal, a home run, or a touchdown.”
If the WBO disagrees, it’s unlikely the WBC will be able to pass the new scoring process. All four organizations must be on board for such a massive system alteration.
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