Controversial draws

A draw is a consolation to a fighter who should’ve lost. But to a fighter who should’ve won, it’s as disappointing as a loss.

In last Saturday’s fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, uncrowned world featherweight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao took the controversial split draw like a stab in the back. He deserved to win but two of the three judges looked the other way. One of the two later confessed to a mistake, probably bothered by a guilty conscience, but it was of no consequence.

An error in judgment is no justification to correct a scorecard after a fight. An error of a mathematical nature is a justifiable reason. So is a judge’s admission that he was coerced to score against his better judgment. But an oversight of the usual practice of scoring a 10-6 round when a fighter is floored at least thrice in a bout without the three knockdown rule is no reason.

So judge Burt Clements’ admission is immaterial. It will not reverse the decision and only makes you wonder what kind of justice is administered in the sleazy world of professional boxing.

For the record, more than 100 draws are in the books in world championship boxing history–31 since 1995. A glaring fact is Filipinos have figured in 13 of those tossups, a surprisingly high rate of over 10 percent of total draws.

Defending middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia was the first Filipino to draw in a world title fight, squaring with Henry Armstrong in Los Angeles in 1940. World junior lightweight king Ben Villaflor is the Filipino topnotcher in title fight draws with three–Victor Echegaray in 1972, Apollo Yoshio in 1974 and Sammy Serrano in 1976.

Other Filipinos in the list are minimumweight Pretty Boy Lucas (with Phalan Lukmingkwan in 1990), lightflyweight Andy Tabanas (with Phalan in 2001), flyweight Erbito Salavarria (with Betulio Gonzalez in 1971), flyweight Rudy Idano (with Scotty Olson in 1996), flyweight Malcolm Tunacao (with Celes Kobayashi in 2000), superbantamweight Pacquiao (with Agapito Sanchez in 2001), junior lightweight Rene Barrientos (with Hiroshi Kobayashi in 1968) and junior middleweight Marlon Chinilla (with Nico Turiri in 1995).

Last year, there were four draws in world title fights, including the highly-disputed stalemate between In Jin Chi and Michael Brodie for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight crown in Manchester.

The Chi-Brodie draw was a farce. Chi was initially declared the winner by majority decision. But 30 minutes later, the decision was changed to a majority draw after WBC president Jose Sulaiman discovered a one-point deduction on Chi ordered by referee Daniel Van de Viele was not factored in judge Hubert Minn’s scorecard.

Two of the most controversial title draws ever were the 1993 Pernell Whitaker versus Julio Cesar Chavez and the 1999 Lennox Lewis versus Evander Holyfield robberies.

Whitaker should’ve won but the unbeaten Chavez, protected by Sulaiman, salvaged a majority draw. Judges Franz Marti and Mickey Vann both scored it 115-all. Judge Jack Woodruf saw it 115-113 for Whitaker. Bob Mee of Boxing News said Whitaker was robbed.

"Draws are never good for boxing," said Mee. "They have a terribly adverse effect on the public image of the business when the result seems obvious to 99 percent of the people around."

Whitaker said, "This could be the most frustrating night of an athlete’s career having something like this thrown on him but I’m going to take it as a victory."

Curiously, the referee in the fight was Joe Cortez–-who worked the Pacquiao-Marquez draw.

In the Lewis-Holyfield fiasco, the split draw was loudly booed by fans. Lewis was the clear winner. Judge Eugenia Williams scored it 115-113 for Holyfield. She scored Lewis’ most dominating round, the fifth, 10-9 for Holyfield. Judge Larry O’Connell saw it 115-all and Stanley Christodoulou, 116-113 for Lewis. The three judges were paid $5,150 each for their services. Williams was later blacklisted for her ridiculous scorecard.

Another dubious split draw was announced after Holyfield’s fight against John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in Connecticut three years ago. Judge Dan O’Neill scored it 115-113 for Ruiz, Julie Lederman 116-112 for Holyfield and Tom Kaczmarek 114-all. Holyfield appeared to be the runaway winner.

"While even the pro-Ruiz crowd dissented with the call, the draw was hardly the grand larceny of the Holyfield-Lewis fiasco of 1999," wrote Ted Bodenrader in the Ring Magazine. "It was more like a small-time purse-snatching." The Pacquiao-Marquez split draw ranks high in the dubious list with Lewis-Holyfield and Whitaker-Chavez among the most contemptuous decisions in world championship boxing history.

Pacquiao was clearly robbed of victory. Clements, who scored it 113-all, admitted he shortchanged Pacquiao by a point. And if Cortez did his job "firm but fair," he would’ve deducted a point from Marquez for repeatedly hitting below the belt. Pacquiao should’ve won by a split decision. Instead, he settled for a split draw.

Like Whitaker and Lewis, Pacquiao deserved better.

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