Pinoy judge isusulong ang reporma sa boxing

Manila, Philippines -  Matapos ang kontrobersyal na split decision loss ni Manny Pacquiao kay Timothy Bradley Jr. sa Las Vegas noong Linggo, dalawang Filipino boxing judges ang magsisimula ng krusada para repormahin ang professional boxing.

Ipinapanukala ni Silvestre Abainza, ang bagong luk­lok na presidente ng As­sociation of Philippine Pro­fessional Boxing Ring Officials, ang pagkakaroon ng age limit para sa mga referees at judges.

Maliban pa dito ang pagbabago sa scoring system at ang balanseng kinatawan ng bansa sa hanay ng mga opisyales na mag-iiskor sa laban.

Ang 59-anyos na si Abainza ay nangasiwa sa 70 world title fights bilang isang referee at judge.

Noong 1998, nakasama niya sina Jerry Roth at Larry O’Connell bilang judges sa WBA minimumweight title bout nina Ricardo Lopez at Rosendo Alvarez sa Las Vegas.       

Ang 71-anyos na Roth, isa sa tatlong judges na namahala sa Pacquiao-Bradley bout bukod pa sa 62-anyos na si Cynthia J. Ross at sa 74-anyos na si Duane Ford.

 Umiskor si Roth ng 115-113 para kay Pacquiao, habang magkaparehong 115-113 ang ibinigay nina Ross at Ford kay Bradley. 

 Nakatuwang ni Abainza si Ford sa WBA featherweight contest nina Derrick Gainer at Oscar Leon sa Las Vegas noong 2003.

 “I can’t question their competence,” wika ni Abainza kina Ross at Ford. “They’re well-known judges. I just couldn’t believe their scores when Manny clearly won the fight. I don’t know what an investigation will prove. Things must be done to improve the system. I think there must be an age limit of 65 for referees and judges. Let the next ge­neration take over. I also think that if Manny fights Bradley in case of a rematch, there should be one Filipino judge, one American judge and one European judge. I watched Manny’s fight with Boy Cantada in Taguig and I scored it 116-112 for Manny. So when it was announced that Bradley won by split decision, I was shocked.”