An honest discussion about the incident.
As a marketing agency with a strong reach (pun intended), I felt it would be good to write about local news, especially when the news is about a local lad that has received injustice.
Recently, an investigation was launched into the scoring of a recent British boxing match. The fight in question was Josh Taylor vs our local legend, Jack Catterall. This blog will discuss the fight in greater detail and look at concerns of corruption and ill decision in the sport.
A brief look at Jack Catterall
Jack Catterall is a young and upcoming professional boxer from Chorley. He has a professional record of 26 wins, 1 ‘loss’ (after this recent fight), and 13 knockouts. He’s a fast and agile boxer with a superb technique. His record is exemplary, but it doesn’t tell the full story of his skills. Jack Catterall is a 28 year old British boxer fighting in the light-welterweight division. He’s been a member of the Chorley ABC boxing club since the age of 10.
A brief look at Josh Taylor
Josh Taylor is a professional boxer from Scotland and has been ranked as number one in the world at light-welterweight. He is currently undefeated in his career and has a professional record of 19 wins, 13 wins by knockout, 0 losses and 0 draws. Taylor has been with his trainer, Ben Davidson for many years and credits him for being the reason for his success. His trainer has also said that Taylor is one of the most talented boxers he has ever seen.
Is it in the officials’ hands to manipulate scores to benefit fighters?
The judges are supposed to be the ultimate authority in boxing matches, but some feel as though they’re boxing’s ultimate liability. We’re not talking about crooked judges — although that’s certainly happened — but rather a system that seems to be clouded with controversy. It’s a system that seems to work against the sport’s biggest names. Don’t believe us? Just look at the controversial recent fights involving Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Gennady Golovkin and others. Alvarez’s and Pacquiao’s recent fights both were marred by poor decisions from the judges.
Over the years, many boxing fans and even the boxers themselves began to be suspicious of some of the decisions that referees and judges make in the sport. This is not the first time that such things happened in the sport. In fact, there have been countless of decisions that amazed the fans and raised quite a few questions. The general feeling among the boxing fans is that some of the officials might have been biassed or that they might have been paid off or bribed to manipulate the scores.
How did scoring become a problem in boxing?
To start off with, boxing has arguably the most subjective scoring system in any sport. But, as an avid boxing follower who has been watching the sport for many years, I can tell you that I’ve seen a lot of fights where it seemed like the judges were just pulling names out of a hat. If you’re a boxing fan, then chances are you’ve seen a few fights that were scored incorrectly. In fact, the controversy surrounding how fights are scored is well-known. But how did scoring become a problem in boxing? To answer that, you need to take a look at boxing’s history. Since the early days of boxing, scoring has been a problem. Even back in the 1800s and early 1900s, there were fights that were clearly one-sided, yet the judges would score the fight in favour of the guy who got knocked down every round. The problem has always been there, but it’s never been addressed. Why? Because boxing is a sport that’s ruled by humans, and humans make mistakes.
Can trust in boxing be saved?
The sport of boxing is under a lot of pressure these days. The scoring in the ring is a very controversial subject among boxing fans, but it’s not the only thing that’s wrong with the sport. Boxing isn’t what it used to be and in order for it to grow and survive, it needs to get its act together. The sport of boxing is in trouble and it’s got a big, big problem. Something needs to be done immediately if the sport of boxing is to survive. There has been talk about it before, but it’s time to make a change.
Conclusion:
It was clear by almost everyone that watched the Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall fight that the ‘undisputed’ champion should have lost his belts to his challenger. There is understandably international condemnation to how two of the judges managed to score the fight 113-112 and more so 114-111. This needs to be investigated thoroughly by the British Boxing Board of Control so that the injustice is recognised and has a reduced risk of happening again.
As far as my personal feelings, Jack Catterall put on the performance of his life and as such was crowned a local legend. Over 2,000 fans travelled up to watch his fight, showing massive support for this young man. Calmness and composure were shown throughout the fight and although life throws unquestionable hard knocks, continue to be true to yourself Jack and do what you do best.
