59 replies to this topic

[fletcherpost]

And Ireland assured of at least a bronze in the light-fly. Good for them.

[kenneycb]

Still, watching the Olympic event reminds me why I like pro boxing.

I'm not sure if you mean this in terms of scoring or in terms of style but I watch some of the smaller guys (can't remember the names, maybe around 51 kg, one from Cuba, one from Brazil) for a couple of rounds today and it was just ugly, ugly boxing. Both guys were essentially flailing at the other and were often off-balance, tripping over their own feet after throwing a punch. I'm not sure if all the matches were like this, I'd like to imagine the heavier guys have a more controlled style, but it was painful to watch.

Edited by kenneycb, 20 August 2008 - 01:36 AM.

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

I'm not sure if you mean this in terms of scoring or in terms of style but I watch some of the smaller guys (can't remember the names, maybe around 51 kg, one from Cuba, one from Brazil) for a couple of rounds today and it was just ugly, ugly boxing. Both guys were essentially flailing at the other and were often off-balance, tripping over their own feet after throwing a punch. I'm not sure if all the matches were like this, I'd like to imagine the heavier guys have a more controlled style, but it was painful to watch.

This is an interesting proposal for using a CompuBox like scoring system to judge amateur boxing. Kind of an intriguing idea, actually.

According to CompuBox president Bob Canobbio, one of the biggest flaws of the current scoring system is that one judge is trying to count both fighters simultaneously.
"When we were developing the CompuBox program we found that one operator can't accurately count both fighters’ connects; it was just too much," he said. "So we came up with the system where one counter is assigned one fighter. Because an operator is focusing on just one fighter, more accurate and representative numbers will be the result."

Since CompuBox's program counts jabs and power punches as well as connects and non-connects, the statistics produced not only would be more reflective of the action inside the ring, it would encourage amateur fighters to adopt a more complete fighting style. The importance of landed jabs and body punches would be restored because fighters would be confident that CompuBox-trained operators would give them proper credit. Therefore, the result will be fighters practicing the tenets of true boxing instead of safety-first fencing. ...

There is a way to implement the CompuBox system within the confines of the current amateur structure. Instead of five judges using a keypad to record both fighters’ connects, six AIBA certified operators consisting of three teams of two can be stationed at three separate points around the ring. Armed with laptops containing the CompuBox program, one operator on each of the three teams counts the red-clad fighter while his counterpart compiles figures for the blue-clad fighter. The white portion of the glove, which should be widened to include the entire hitting surface, would serve only as a visual guide instead of a determiner of scoring blows.

After each round, the numbers produced by the three teams are averaged and – should the AIBA choose to retain open scoring – the numbers will be flashed on the scoreboard between rounds. But since the official scores will be the product of averages, no running totals will be provided during the round. This will put a stop to the constant scoreboard watching by fighters and corners alike. Also, the more liberal scoring system will also halt boxing's version of the "prevent defense" as well as provide hope for fighters who are trailing entering the final round. They will feel free to continue implementing their fight plans while those who are ahead know they must keep competing positively in order to keep their leads. The result will be much better fights for the spectators and results that are much more likely to match what their own eyes see. Thus, the sport becomes believable again.

[shawnrbu]

Lomachenko, the featherweight from the Ukraine, was thrilling to watch. He destroyed his French opponent in the Gold Medal fight. I look forward to seeing him on HBO in a few years.

Edited by shawnrbu, 23 August 2008 - 11:22 AM.

[kenneycb]

It's interesting to hear Lampley and Atlas completely lambast the scoring system during the fights. Lots of inconsistentcies from the judges and, from what I can gather from the analysts, incompetent referees.

Edit: My god the clutching is absolutely ridiculous. It's like a freaking wrestling match or something. One guy got tackled to the mat last round. Compared to some of the old Olympic matches (the Spinks brothers, Leonard, etc) this is an absolute disgrace of wild punches and clutching.

Edited by kenneycb, 23 August 2008 - 11:55 AM.

[jkempa]

It's interesting to hear Lampley and Atlas completely lambast the scoring system during the fights. Lots of inconsistentcies from the judges and, from what I can gather from the analysts, incompetent referees

I caught the tail end of a press conference or something yesterday where someone in charge of the boxing federation (not sure who) or referees basically said, scoring is subjective and we probably get 90-95% of the bouts correct. That is just awful. Could you imagine getting robbed in the Olympics and hearing this guy say, well at least we get most of them right?

[shawnrbu]

The fans at the boxing venue booed "God Save the Queen" during the Middleweight medal ceremony.

Did the Cuban middleweight actually bite the Brit?

LOL @ NBC showing a 15 second "highlight" clip of the Heavyweight Gold Medal fight when they showed the four other Saturday finals in full.

Edited by shawnrbu, 23 August 2008 - 12:04 PM.

[cjdmadcow]

Did the Cuban middleweight actually bite the Brit?

He did, he was 4-1 down at the time in the 1st round. The bite gave DeGale another 2 points which proved conclusive in a 16-14 win and GB's 19th Gold Medal.

[gaelgirl]

My dad was a boxer in college. He's totally crazy about boxing. He Tivo's every boxing match on TV, including Spanish-language repeat broadcasts of bouts he's already seen. He's a collegiate boxing judge.

My dad said he's been having a hard time watching Olympic boxing because the scoring is so awful. It makes him angry. He doesn't really care who wins (though I am sure he roots for Americans and the Irish when they're fighting), but he's pissed that the scoring is so awful. I guess he watched one fight where they winner advanced with a score of 2-1. That there were only three punches officially landed in an entire bout incensed him.

I watched the crap that was the gold medal matches today. The one where they kept tackling each other to the floor (the one where the Brit won) was lame. The one right before that, where the Dominican who robbed the Frenchie in the earlier fight won the gold, was equally lame. I don't follow boxing and figured that out.

[jkempa]

I know it's been said many times in this thread already, but the scoring in Olympic boxing is a complete joke.