Controversy over judge’s decisions is as much a part of our sport as the low-kick or the left hook. Sometimes it seems valid and other times less so. Let’s take a look back at G17 / Last Man Standing, analyze a few of the bouts and how the judges had them scored.
DEBONTE VS. VALTELLINI
ROUND #1 9-10 9-10 9-10
ROUND #2 9-10 9-10 9-10
ROUND #3 8-10 8-10 8-10
ROUND #4 10-8 10-8 10-8
ROUND #5 10-9 10-9 10-9
TOTAL 46-4746-4746-47
First - all three judges scored each round identically. Valtellini earned the first two rounds by effective aggressiveness and clean scoring. He got a 2 point advantage in the round 3 for his high-kick knockdown. DeBonte came back with a knockdown of his own in round 4 and though he was dominant in round 5 he failed to put Valtellini down so only earned the score 10-9 from each judge.
Valtellini earned the unanimous decision, but because DeBonte was most effective in the last half of the bout, many who “watched” the fight rather than “scoring it” thought that DeBonte had won. Not surprising.
VERLINDEN VS. MANHOEF
ROUND #1 10-8 10-8 10-8
ROUND #2 9-10 10-9 10-9
ROUND #3 9-10 9-10 10-9
TOTAL 28-2829-2730-26
Due to Verlinden’s knockdown of Manhoef in round 1, all three judges awarded the round by two points. In rounds two and three the scoring reflected which side of the ring the judge was sitting on and whether they preferred Manhoef’s aggressive pursuit or Verlinden’s sharp-shooting. Judge one preferred Manhoef’s attack while Judges two and three thought that Verlinden’s sharp shooting earned him the bout. The lesson here is, “when you make the fight close you live with the judge’s decision”.
GHITA VS VERHOEVEN
ROUND #1 9-10 9-10 10-9
ROUND #2 9-10 9-10 9-10
ROUND #3 9-10 10-9 10-9
ROUND #4 9-10 9-10 9-10
ROUND #5 10-9 9-10 10-9
TOTAL 46-4946-4947-48
Verhoeven claimed a unanimous decision in a technical bout where neither fighter really committed to an effort to dominate the other. Three of the five rounds were close with at least one judge in disagreement in all but second and the fourth, both of which went to Verhoeven earning him the title. Keep in mind that the judges can’t score a round even (10-10) if they witnessed even a small advantage in aggressiveness or clean scoring strikes.
SHILLING VS. MARCUS
ROUND #1 10-9 10-9 10-9
ROUND #2 8-10 8-10 8-10
ROUND #3 10-9 10-9 10-9
TOTAL 28-2828-2828-29
Simple mathematics carried this bout into the sudden victory round. And again, each judge scored each and every round the exact same way; two rounds to Shilling (1 & 3) and one round to Marcus by two points for the knockdown in round 2. Result: a draw forcing the sudden victory round where Shilling scores the spectacular knockout.
Controversy and debate are a part of the charm and drama of our sport. And while I’ll defend everyone’s right to their opinion that is exactly why we all love the fighters who demonstrate their superiority in a way that removes all doubt. It’s a knockout!
