Boxing (Eventually) Gets One Right

Every now and then boxing rescues itself from the abyss and reminds its fans that there are actual adults in the room making decisions. Now these occurrences aren't necessarily frequent, but it's worth pointing out when the sport does the right thing, even when it doesn't have to. Such a situation transpired last Saturday in the Guido Vianello-Jonnie Rice fight.   

Vianello entered Saturday's fight as an undefeated heavyweight (10-0-1) and the one with the Top Rank contract. The Italian Olympian hadn't fully impressed in the early portion of his pro career, but still, he was signed to one of the biggest promoters in the sport for a reason. 

Rice was a late-replacement opponent and while many thought he had a decent chance of beating Vianello if he was in good shape, his lack of self-confidence, inconsistent motivation, and out-of-the ring habits have at times sabotaged his career. Rice had a professional record of 15-6, but with 10 knockouts. He also had a reputation of being a strong sparring partner, working with Luis Ortiz, Joe Joyce, Michael Hunter, Filip Hrgovic, Jared Anderson, and Efe Ajagba among many other notable heavyweights. 

Vianello won the first five rounds of Saturday's fight with ease. Pumping a jump and pressing the action, Vianello's activity level was much greater than Rice's and although Vianello didn't land many signature blows in the fight, he at least was working; Rice, for whatever reason, was reluctant to let his hands go. 

But in the sixth, the fight changed. Rice landed a blistering counter right hand that shook Vianello. More importantly, right after the punch landed, Vianello started to bleed profusely. There was now a large and deep horizontal cut directly above his left eye. 

Vianello was able to complete the round, but in the beginning of the seventh the cut again opened up. Referee Benjy Esteves halted the action and had Vianello examined by the ringside physician. Vianello was in bad shape and the doctor made the wise decision in recommending stopping the fight. 

Vianello's cut above his left eye
Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

But then things started to get strange. After waving the fight off, Esteves instructed the judges to score the round, meaning, that the fight would go to the scorecards. He believed that the cut had been caused by a head butt and notified the judges accordingly. Viewers watching the broadcast didn't observe the type of head butt that would make such a gash, nor did the ESPN replays show such a moment. And what was particularly unusual about Esteves' ruling was that he didn't appear to notify the judges of the head butt in the sixth round directly after it happened or in the break between rounds, which are the usual standard practices when these cuts occur. 

Now, if the cut was ruled to be caused by a punch, then Rice would have won by technical knockout, but if it was deemed to be caused by a head butt, then the fight would have gone to the scorecards, where Rice would have been down at that point in the match and would have lost. So, as it initially stood, Rice looked like he was about to be screwed by Esteves, which as the B-side is something that certainly happens in the sport. 

But we're just beginning to get weird here. Within moments after instructing the judges to score the round, Carl Moretti, the Vice President of Operations for Top Rank, was talking with Esteves in the ring and mentioned that the ESPN broadcasters believed a punch had caused the cut and not a head butt (this exchange was captured on the broadcast). Then Dan Gustafson, the Executive Director of the Oneida Indian Nation Gaming Commission (the jurisdiction for Saturday's fight), suggested that Esteves might want to consider using replay to assess whether a head butt or a punch caused the cut. 

All of this was very ad hoc, with there not being firm rules about when the commission could and would use video replay. And to Esteves' credit, he listened to what was being said, left the ring and marched over to the ESPN broadcast table to review the replay angles. Within a few brief minutes, he had seen enough to change his initial ruling, thereby giving Rice the knockout victory. 

Jonnie Rice belatedly getting the victory
Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

Two factors contributed to this unusual and yet satisfying conclusion. Carl Moretti's fighter in the bout was Vianello. Top Rank didn't have a long-term promotional contract with Rice, and it was to Top Rank's benefit (in theory) to have Vianello declared the winner. However, Moretti understood the optics. It did no justice to Rice, to the sport, to the commission or to the legitimacy of the whole enterprise for Vianello to win in that manner. The integrity of the sport trumped Top Rank's parochial interest in Vianello. Moretti was under no obligation to suggest to Esteves that a punch may have caused the cut, but he believed that it was the right thing to do; and it was. 

Also, credit must be given to Esteves for his desire to get it right. Esteves has been a solid ref for decades, but he got the initial call wrong. Refreshingly, he didn't double down on his mistake and that's certainly commendable. All referees will err, but Esteves understood that getting it right was more important than his ego. Yes, he had an off night, but he didn't compound his mistake by ignoring contradictory evidence. 

Ultimately, justice was done and Rice got his deserved win. The right decision was made, but there were still some icky moments in getting to the proper outcome that need to be addressed moving forward, with two questions in particular: 

1. Why was a representative of a promoter talking to the referee trying to influence the outcome of the fight? 

Yes, Moretti played a huge role in ensuring that the outcome was changed. He did the right thing. But surely these types of interactions could be rife for abuse. We can't assume that a promoter will always have the best interests of boxing in mind.

2. Why was it unclear whether replay could or should be used? 

For whatever reason, too many commissions refuse to utilize video replay as a tool or don't have the utilization of replay as part of their rules. Shouldn't the Association of Boxing Commissions (the ABC) have stronger guidance on the application of replay?

Ultimately boxing needs to get its act together. Every major sport uses replay for specific prescribed scenarios. And boxing could do the right thing by mandating replay for specific instances where there is doubt (knockdown vs. no knockdown calls or cuts caused by punches or head butts to name two).  

The powers that be got things right on Saturday and they should be congratulated for their conduct, but it would have been much easier for everyone involved if these types of rules had been codified by the commission. Boxing doesn't HAVE to be retrograde as a sport; it just often chooses to be. 

This issue is too important to leave it up to every jurisdiction or Podunk commission throughout the land. It's time to take some power away from these fiefdoms. Let's make a simple rule: If you want to hold world-class boxing, then you need to have replay. And then prescribe how and when it should be utilized.

Not every problem in boxing is intractable. In America, the ABC has the power to codify the utilization of replay. It's time to act like adults and gather the relevant parties together to make universal rules for replay's application. We should not have to count on a beneficent promoter or a forward-looking executive director to save an event. It's time to grow up. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Performance of the Year: Ring Magazine

I made my Ring Magazine debut for this month's digital edition, penning the 2022 Performance of the Year award article for Dmitry Bivol's victory over Canelo Alvarez. You can read the article here: The rest of the awards and their corresponding articles can be accessed from my piece. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

The 2022 Saturday Night Boxing Awards

It's that time of year again, to hand out the annual boxing hardware. Although I don't believe that 2022 will be remembered as a particularly strong year for the sport, the winners deserve to be honored and commemorated. So, let's get right to it! 

Here are the 2022 Saturday Night Boxing Awards (the 12th annual edition), with accolades given for Fighter, Fight, Knockout, Round, Upset, Trainer, Promoter, Network and Referee. 

Fighter of the Year: Dmitry Bivol

Dmitrii Bivol entered 2022 having lost much of his career momentum. Once upon a time he was an HBO Boxing darling, with dominant victories over solid light heavyweights such as Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba and Jean Pascal. But he was hurt badly in a fight against Joe Smith in 2019 and after a lengthy time off during the pandemic, looked listless in scraping by with a win over unheralded Craig Richards. 

Bivol's first fight of 2022 was to be against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the two-time Saturday Night Boxing Fighter of the Year (2019, 2021), who had just completed a tremendous run at super middleweight to become undisputed champ. In addition, Alvarez had already knocked out a light heavyweight champion (Sergey Kovalev) in 2019. So, did Bivol represent another instance of brilliant matchmaking from Canelo and his team, picking off a champion removed from his best, or would this be an example of Canelo biting off more than he could chew? 

Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

The answer to this question became obvious within the first few rounds of their fight, where Bivol dominated with his speed and control of range. Bivol beat Alvarez during every phase of the fight. With his superior hand speed and pinpoint counters, he won almost all of the battles in the center of the ring. When Alvarez went to the ropes in the middle rounds, Bivol again demonstrated his superiority, by picking his shots beautifully and not getting sucked into a war. 

And it wasn't just a backfoot demonstration by Bivol. When he decided to go forward, he bested Canelo with quick combinations and avoided damage. Bivol did get hit with a handful of big shots throughout the match, but he took them well, and was never really troubled during the fight. Although the judges had the fight close (115-113), it really wasn't. Bivol defanged one of the top talents in the sport, and made it look easy. 

Later in the year Bivol dominated undefeated Gilberto Ramirez, a former super middleweight champ who had become a contender at 175 lbs. In the ring, the gulf in class between Bivol and Ramirez was vast. Bivol could do whatever he wanted. His speed and accuracy flummoxed Ramirez, who didn't feel comfortable letting his hands go. It was a masterful display of boxing and ring generalship. 

2022 was Bivol's year. He elevated himself from a champion, of which there are many in the sport, to the highest level in boxing: the elite of the elite. 

Previous SNB Fighters of the Year:

2021: Saul Alvarez
2020: Teofimo Lopez
2019: Saul Alvarez
2018: Oleksandr Usyk
2017: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
2016: Carl Frampton
2015: Floyd Mayweather
2014: Naoya Inoue
2013: Adonis Stevenson
2012: Nonito Donaire
2011: Andre Ward

Fight of the Year: Leigh Wood-Michael Conlan 

What I'll remember most about boxing from 2022 is Leigh Wood (and pardon my French here) getting his shit kicked in for more than half his fight, close to being stopped on multiple occasions, and then somehow finding the internal fortitude to not just fight his way back into the match, but to knock Michael Conlan clear out of the ring in the last round. It was the stuff dreams are made of, fairy tale land. 

From the opening round, things started poorly for Wood (who was defending his secondary featherweight title). Conlan, a crafty switch hitter not necessarily known for his power, dropped Wood with an overhand left out of the southpaw stance. And it wasn't a flash knockdown; Wood was badly hurt. And Conlan kept going back to that same shot in the subsequent rounds, landing it at will.

Wood (left) and Conlan in an epic battle of attrition
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

But it was a strange performance from Conlan in that although he was hurting Wood, he didn't have the temperament to go for the finish. He was content to land a couple of big bombs a round instead of stepping on the gas to try to end the fight. 

By the middle rounds it became clear that Conlan only wanted to work in spurts. Perhaps he had spent a lot of energy unloading his big power shots; maybe the enormity of the moment, being the away fighter in the biggest opportunity of his career, got to him; but let's also give Wood credit for his body attack. Although Wood lost most of the rounds in the first half of the fight, whenever he could he would go to Conlan's body with his best power shots. 

As the fight progressed, Conlan wasn't landing with the same sting and Wood felt more comfortable imposing himself physically. Toward the end of the 11th, Wood scored a knockdown during a brief tussle in the middle of the ring. It was a flash knockdown and not the cleanest contact, but it was a 10-8 round for Wood. Could the fight still be on the table for him? 

In the final round, Wood kept marching forward behind his vociferous hometown support. In the concluding sequence of the fight, Conlan retreated to the ropes and Wood blasted through Conlan's defenses, knocking him out of the ring (more on this later).

Wood-Conlan is an advertisement for boxing at its elemental best, an epic battle of attrition. It's fights like this one that build and bind fans' allegiance to the sport. Wood-Conlan captured the spirit and magic of prizefighting at its best.

Previous SNB Fights of the Year: 

2021: Fury-Wilder III
2020: Zepeda-Baranchyk
2019: Inoue-Donaire
2018: Chisora-Takam
2017: Joshua-Klitschko
2016: Vargas-Salido
2015: Miura-Vargas
2014: Coyle-Brizuela
2013: Bradley-Provodnikov
2012: Pacquiao-Marquez IV
2011: Rios-Acosta

Knockout of the Year: Leigh Wood TKO 12 Michael Conlan

As referenced above, Wood was down early in his fight against Conlan and badly hurt multiple times, but he was able to crawl his way back into the match. Picking away at Conlan with body shots and lead hooks, Wood started to impose himself late in the fight. He scored a knockdown at the end of the 11th round and heading into the 12th, somehow, after all he had endured, he was the fresher fighter. 

With two minutes left in the 12th, both fighters exchanged power shots with Wood getting the better of the action. Wood's final right hook in this sequence forced Conlan back to the ropes. Wood pressed forward, trapping Conlan. 

Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson

Wood threw out four quick, pawing jabs that Conlan evaded, but Conlan only moved his head not his hands – one glove remained by his side while the other was below his waist. Wood’s jab flurry forced Conlan to lose his defensive posture, creating the perfect opening. Wood then landed a hard, short right hand on the right side of Conlan's face that turned out his lights and sent him crashing through the ropes. The action was so quick and sudden that multiple replays were needed to confirm how Wood was able to accomplish this stunning feat. 

There were better one-punch knockouts in 2022, but you aren't going to find a stoppage as dramatic as this one. Wood was just about done and dusted earlier in the fight and somehow had the perseverance, the will and, most importantly, the execution to send Michael Conlan through the ropes. It was an incredible turn of events. Wood's stoppage was 2022's signature boxing moment.  

Previous SNB Knockouts of the Year:

2021: Gabe Rosado KO 3 Bektemir Melikuziev
2020: (tie) Alexander Povetkin KO 5 Dillian Whyte and Gervonta Davis KO 6 Leo Santa Cruz
2019: Nonito Donaire KO 6 Stephon Young
2018: Naoya Inoue KO 1 Juan Carlos Payano
2017: Zolani Tete KO 1 Siboniso Gonya
2016: Hassan N'Dam KO 1 Alfonso Blanco
2015: Yenifel Vincente KO 3 Juan Dominguez
2014: Andy Lee KO 5 John Jackson
2013: Stephen Smith KO 5 Gary Buckland
2012: Juan Manuel Marquez KO 6 Manny Pacquiao
2011: Takashi Uchiyama TKO 11 Jorge Solis

Round of the Year: Mauricio Lara-Emilio Sanchez Round 3

Emilio Sanchez had been dropped by Mauricio Lara in the first round of their fight and hurt badly in the second. Instead of trying to outbox Lara, which Sanchez's trainer Manny Robles said was their game plan, Sanchez was determined to go toe-to-toe. In the third round, Sanchez changed the dynamic of the fight by landing a hard straight right hand in an exchange with just over two minutes left in the round. That punch tempered Lara's aggression. Sanchez then jumped on this opportunity, connecting with pulverizing uppercuts with both hands, landing four in quick succession. These shots took the wind out of Lara's sails and he spent most of the next minute trying to recuperate. 

Sanchez continued to apply pressure with his forward movement and lead jabs. When Lara finally was able to recover, he started winging power shots. But Sanchez then connected with a counter left hook that forced Lara back to the ropes. With Lara weakening, Sanchez flurried and Lara was unable to stop the onslaught. Desperate, Lara alternated between holding on and throwing whatever he could to keep Sanchez away. But Sanchez kept attacking Lara's body with wicked left hooks, causing further damage. 

Lara (left) and Sanchez in an unforgettable 3rd round
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland

A hook with 40 seconds left in the round hurt Lara so badly that he held onto Sanchez and walked him completely across the ring, eventually falling down when his balance gave out. It wasn't ruled a knockdown, which was the correct ruling, but Lara looked spent. When he got to his feet, referee Ray Corona warned him for holding and threatened to take away a point. 

With under ten seconds left in the round, Lara walked over to Sanchez, unconvincingly, but then uncorked a powerful left hook that stung Sanchez. He followed up with a right hand that forced Sanchez to take a backward step. Sanchez then retreated to the corner where Lara connected with a vicious double left hook combo to the body and head. Lara then cuffed Sanchez with a wild right hand and Sanchez moved back to the next available corner. With Sanchez's legs gone and Lara in hot pursuit, Lara connected with a hard right hand to the head, a left hook to the head, a right hook/uppercut to the head that began to send Sanchez down and a final left hook to the head that dropped Sanchez flat on his back below the bottom rope. Sanchez was done and Corona immediately stopped the fight. 

Within 30 seconds both fighters were in danger of being stopped. Lara ultimately had more firepower and better recuperative powers. It was an insane round of boxing where in an instant Sanchez went from springing the upset of his career to being a footnote in Lara's continued rise in the featherweight division. Thrilling stuff. 

Previous SNB Rounds of the Year:

2021: Kenshiro Teraji-Masamichi Yabuki Round 9
2020: Jose Zepeda-Ivan Baranchyk Round 5
2019: Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Round 3
2018: Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury Round 12
2017: Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko Round 5
2016: Edwin Rodriguez-Thomas Williams Jr. Round 2
2015: Edwin Rodriguez-Michael Seals Round 1
2014: Thomas Williams Jr.-Cornelius White Round 1
2013: Tim Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov Round 12
2012: Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Round 12
2011: Hernan Marquez-Luis Concepcion I Round 1

Upset of the Year: Hector Luis Garcia UD Chris Colbert

Chris Colbert was supposed to be a star. Hailing from New York, he was flashy in the ring and brash out of it. He had already starred in a documentary, "CounterPunch," and more than a few in the sport regarded him as a phenom. He could switch hit in the ring effortlessly, his punch placement was pinpoint, and the timing on his counters was special. 2022 was supposed to be his year. He was set to face Roger Gutierrez for a 130-lb. belt before Gutierrez had to withdraw on late notice. In stepped Hector Luis Garcia, who was a relatively unknown fighter from the Dominican Republic (just 2 of his 14 previous fights had been outside of the D.R.).

But no one told Garcia that he was there to be the "opponent." From the opening bell Garcia attacked Colbert relentlessly, yet he displayed significant craft. His onslaught wasn't crude, just merciless in its effectiveness. Garcia's success made the lightning-handed Colbert reluctant to throw. And as the fight progressed, Garcia demonstrated that his fast start wasn't a fluke. He kept hammering away at Colbert, bludgeoning him with big body shots and combinations to the head. In the seventh Garcia scored a knockdown and Colbert was reeling. 

Late sub Garcia (left) dominated the highly touted Colbert
Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

Garcia's beating of Colbert was so comprehensive that Colbert spent the championship rounds of the fight in pure survival mode, literally running away from contact, happy to make it to the final bell; he had been thoroughly dominated. 

To put an exclamation point on an incredible win, Garcia defeated Gutierrez later in the year to win a world title, but it was the Colbert performance that put him on the map. Garcia, a southpaw and an Olympian, displayed an intoxicating package of aggression and refinement.  I'm not sure if Colbert, who hasn't fought since the defeat, has yet to figure out what happened to him that night. He got run over by a freight train.

Previous SNB Upsets of the Year:  

2021: George Kambosos SD Teofimo Lopez
2020: Robert Helenius TKO 4 Adam Kownacki
2019: Andy Ruiz TKO 7 Anthony Joshua
2018: Rob Brant UD Ryota Murata
2017: Caleb Truax MD James DeGale
2016: Joe Smith Jr. KO 1 Andrzej Fonfara
2015: Tyson Fury UD Wladimir Klitschko
2014: (tie) James de la Rosa UD Alfredo Angulo and Tommy Karpency SD Chad Dawson
2013: Jhonny Gonzalez KO 1 Abner Mares
2012: Sonny Boy Jaro TKO 6 Pongsaklek Wongjongkam

Trainer of the Year: Derrick James

James, a previous SNB Trainer of the Year for 2017, had a sublime 2022. It's not just that his major fighters (Jermell Charlo, Errol Spence and Frank Martin) won their matchups this year, it's that they dominated excellent competition. With Charlo and Martin in particular, you could see them improve before our eyes, with Charlo finally becoming a finished product and Martin demonstrating that he's a serious contender in the lightweight division. 

I think James' greatest success this year was how he was able to raise Charlo's performance level in the rematch against Brian Castano. I think that Castano was unfortunate to get a draw when they fought in 2021. In the corner during that fight, James beseeched Charlo to stop looking for the knockout and box Castano more, yet Charlo often ignored those instructions, and it was to his detriment. 

Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

But in the rematch, Charlo implemented a number of adjustments. Most importantly, he stayed off the ropes, where Castano had his best periods of success in their first fight. Furthermore, Charlo demonstrated his full range of offensive gifts: leading and countering, using his jab to set things up, going to the body, utilizing all of his power shots. He wasn't left-hook happy or selling out for the knockout. He stayed within himself. He tried to win rounds. Ultimately, he dismantled Castano with a steady dose of debilitating power punches, especially body shots, and he stopped Castano in the tenth round. The knockout did come, but it was through Charlo displaying his manifold gifts, realizing that when employing his full arsenal, he could fight at a higher level than Castano, and James deserves credit for Charlo buying into this.  

James also had high-profile fights with Errol Spence against fellow welterweight titlist Yordenis Ugas and Frank Martin facing the undefeated Michel Rivera. In both matchups, James' fighter dominated proceedings and took away the opponent's best weapon. Ugas' counter right hand was rarely successful while Rivera never was able to establish his jab. James' fighters exhibited technical and tactical mastery over their opponents in the ring. He has become one of the best trainers in the sport

Previous SNB Trainers of the Year:

2021: Eddy Reynoso
2020: Teofimo Lopez Sr.
2019: Eddy Reynoso
2018: Anatoly Lomachenko
2017: Derrick James
2016: Shane McGuigan
2015: Peter Fury
2014: Freddie Roach
2013: Kenny Porter
2012: Robert McCracken
2011: Robert Garcia

Promoter of the Year: No Award Given  

Allow me to get on my soapbox for a moment. If we really want to memorialize boxing in 2022 then we have to remember that the year featured several big fights that didn't get made, such as Spence-Crawford, Joshua-Fury and Davis-Garcia. You will notice that all of the sport's major promoters in the U.S. and the U.K. had at least one boxer who was involved in these failed mega-fights. 

Certainly there were memorable fights in 2022, with great performances and thrilling action. However, the health of boxing is predicated on big events. They are crucial in elevating boxing beyond its hardcore base; they can capture the imagination of a larger sporting public. Mega-fights are vital in expanding the economic footprint of the sport, with fighters making career-high paydays and promoters, managers and networks taking their cut, ensuring that they remain engaged in maximizing boxing's economic potential. 

So, in this regard, the major promoters failed the sport in 2022. Boxing squandered several significant opportunities to expand its base this year and I hope that the powers that be in 2023 realize that cutting up a pool of imaginary money isn't the same thing as cutting up a pool of actual money. Boxing needs its promoters to be good stewards for the sport and to realize that "winning" a negotiation only matters if a big fight takes place. It was often frustrating to be a fan of boxing in 2022 and the promoters were a big reason why. There will be no award given for Promoter of the Year this year and none of the big promoters should feel particularly content with their overall contribution to the sport: They let their sport down. 

Previous SNB Promoters of the Year:

2021: Premier Boxing Champions
2020: Top Rank
2019: Matchroom Boxing
2018: Premier Boxing Champions
2017: K2 Promotions
2016: Matchroom Boxing
2015: Golden Boy Promotions
2014: Matchroom Boxing
2013: (tie) Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank
2012: Golden Boy Promotions
2011: Top Rank

Network of the Year: ESPN

2022 was the year where ESPN and its companion streaming format, ESPN+, demonstrated the power and breadth of their overall boxing offerings. In addition to ESPN's regular American-based Top Rank offerings (which were solid, but not spectacular), ESPN presented several meaningful fights and fight cards from around the globe. Whether it was Inoue-Donaire 2 or Teraji-Kyoguchi in Japan, Fury-Whyte or Joyce-Parker in England, or Yoka-Bakole in France, the overall quality of matchups presented by ESPN's platforms was excellent. 

Now, let's not be naive here. Understand that nothing gets put on ESPN without Top Rank's blessing and for that, the promoter deserves a lot of credit. I'm not going to pretend that promoters didn't do anything good in 2022. In this instance I think that ESPN (with Top Rank as its content provider and conduit to other major fights) delivered a lot of value for boxing fans. 

Previous SNB Networks of the Year:

2021: Showtime
2020: ESPN
2019: DAZN
2018: Showtime
2017: Showtime
2016: Sky Sports
2015: No award given
2014: ESPN
2013: Showtime
2012: BoxNation

Referee of the Year: David Fields

Perhaps it's time to rename this award after Fields, for this is the third time that he has taken home the honors in this category. In one night in November with two different fights, Fields once again showed why he is among the elite of his profession. 

In the main event, Fields made the unpopular but correct choice of disqualifying the hometown fighter, Montana Love, for throwing his opponent Steve Spark out of the ring. Now, there were a lot of political factors that could have mucked up a lesser referee's decision making. Love was in the highest-profile fight of his career, just after signing with Matchroom Boxing. In addition, Spark wasn't necessarily hurt by the infraction. 

Fields (right) gives Love a count after a knockdown
Photo courtesy of Boxingscene

But Fields wisely disregarded the outcome instead of the intention of the action. What Love did was inexcusable, far beyond the rules of professional boxing. His conduct could have led to significant bodily harm, and it was 100% intentional. The disqualification was the correct move. Fields demonstrated the professional judgment to make the correct call and the convictions not to backtrack on his initial assessment. It was decision unpopular with the hometown crowd and the house promoter, but it was absolutely correct. 

In an earlier fight on the card, Fields refereed a war between Thomas Mattice and Christian Tapia. Mattice knocked down Tapia in the second round and had him badly hurt at various points in the first four rounds of the fight. A lesser referee would have stopped the fight, but Tapia showed tremendous recuperative powers. Even after absorbing significant punishment, he kept coming and had moments of real success, winning several rounds in the back half of the fight. Mattice needed to fight his heart out to win the match, and he did just that. Because of Fields' expert professional judgement, fans were treated to a memorable war. Fields understood what he was looking at, that the fighter who was down, and badly hurt, still had more to give. And he was proven correct. Overall, these two fights showcased a referee at the absolute top of his game. 

Previous SNB Referees of the Year:

2021: Mark Lyson
2020: Michiaki Someya
2019: No award given
2018: Jack Reiss
2017: David Fields
2016: Raul Caiz Sr.
2015: David Fields
2014: Steve Smoger
2013: Tony Weeks
2012: Eddie Claudio

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Punch 2 the Face Radio

In this week's Punch 2 the Face Radio, which will be the last one for Brandon and me for the immediate future, we discussed the big fights and happenings from last weekend, including Estrada-Gonzalez 3, Fury-Chisora 3 and Dubois-Lerena. We previewed this week's action: Warrington-Lopez, Lopez-Martin and Crawford-Avanesyan. Brandon and I also looked back at some of our favorite moments during the six years of our podcast. To listen to the show, click on the links below: 

Apple podcast link:

Spotify link:

I heart radio link:

Stitcher link:

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Home Cooking: A Boxing Story

Local officials favoring a home fighter over a foreign opponent isn't a new phenomenon in boxing, or one that is particularly rare. In fact, it's often baked into the calculus of who will win a given fight. We all know that the home fighter often gets preferential treatment on the judges' scorecards. We've frequently witnessed the "opponent" denied an opportunity to continue to fight after getting hurt, even when the home fighter has been given a chance to keep going under similar circumstances. 

However, just because the sport tolerates an acceptable level of bias for the home fighter, that doesn't make it just. And when an egregious example of railroading an "away" opponent occurs, the institutional forces that help govern and control the sport are far too eager to ignore it. 

After years and years of watching home officials deprive or attempt to deprive these opponents of a fair fight, it's easy to become numb to this conduct, throw up our hands and say "that's boxing." But we should remember that fighters' careers are at stake. Moreover, this conduct hurts boxing as a whole, poking additional holes in its veneer of legitimacy. 

In Saturday's heavyweight fight between Daniel Dubois (England) and Kevin Lerena (South Africa), which took place in London, Lerena was denied a fair shake by both a house timekeeper and a homer referee. In the first round of the fight, Lerena dropped the popular Dubois three times. The initial blow was from a short hook that landed on the top of Dubois' head. Dubois appeared to injure his ankle or knee as a result of the punch. He went down shortly after. The subsequent two knockdowns were of Dubois' own accord. He took a knee both times without absorbing further punishment. He clearly couldn't put his weight on his injured leg. 

Referee Howard Foster after Dubois is dropped in the 1st
Photo Courtesy of Mikey Williams

In many fights if a boxer is knocked down three times in a round, the bout is stopped. There used to be a universal Three Knockdown Rule, where a fight would be automatically stopped if that happened. Although most jurisdictions no longer have that rule in effect, unofficially it is still practiced often. (Interesting, the WBA, which sanctioned the Dubois-Lerena fight, does have a Three Knockdown Rule in its prescribed rules on its website; however, the British Boxing Board of Control's [BBBofC] rules were in effect for the fight, and the BBBofC doesn't mandate the Three Knockdown Rule.)

Irrespective of whether English referee Howard Foster should have stopped the fight in the first round, Dubois was in bad shape. And lo and behold, the friendly British timekeeper decided to stop the round nine seconds early, allowing Dubois to return to his corner without facing any additional adversity. 

While Foster's conduct in the first round was acceptable, the timekeeper's certainly wasn't. Far too often we've seen games like this play out in the sport, where an official tries to play with time, either by shortening or elongating a round to help the home fighter – and this incident wasn't even the worst example of manipulating time during Saturday's fight. 

After the shortened first round, Dubois returned to his corner and the minute between rounds helped him recover. By the third round he was on the offensive. A big puncher, Dubois dropped Lerena during the round with a hard power punch. Lerena beat the count, but he was legitimately hurt. Towards the end of the round, Dubois cornered Lerena along the ropes and unloaded stinging power punches. The bell rang to end of the round, but Dubois kept throwing. He then connected with a huge shot that made Lerena collapse into the ropes for a brief moment. Keep in mind: this was an illegal punch because it was after the bell. 

Now, even though Lerena is staggered from an illegal punch, referee Foster treats this as a legitimate knockdown. Lerena is hurt, but he makes it back to his feet without any issue. However, Foster decides that he has seen enough and calls the fight off. This was a railroading job of the first degree. 

Was Lerena given the same chance to recover that Dubois was? Of course he wasn't. Did it matter to Foster that the concluding blow was thrown after the bell, and thus shouldn't have been deemed a legitimate punch? Of course it didn't. Did the representatives on site from the BBBofC intervene immediately after the third round because its rules were not applied properly (counting an illegal punch as legitimate)? Of course they didn't. After the fight was there an official statement by the BBBofC in reference to the conduct of their officials? Of course there wasn't.  

Perhaps Lerena's team will file an appeal with the BBBofC or the WBA to overturn the official verdict, which is a maneuver that hardly ever succeeds. At best, a rematch will be ordered, but I wouldn't bet on the likelihood of that either. And even if a rematch is ordered, it doesn't erase the shit sandwich unjust treatment that Lerena just experienced. Not only did he lose by an illegal shot, but it was a damaging blow by a huge puncher. In addition, there's no guarantee that he gets another crack at Dubois or a meaningful heavyweight opponent any time soon. It could potentially be several fights (years even!) before he is back in a similar position as to where he was on Saturday. 

Lerena lost the fight because a home country referee played fast and loose with the rules. If Foster rightly concluded that the final Dubois punch landed after the bell and Lerena was allowed to continue, he would have entered the fourth still with a lead in the fight. After all, he had a 10-6 round in the first and only would have lost the third by a 10-8 round. Lerena's either up 28-25 or 27-26 going into the fourth. And that's important, especially since Dubois was trying to overcome an injury.  

But he was not allowed to continue. He was offered an early night back to Johannesburg. He was not supposed to win the fight and the officials (ref and timekeeper) helped turn that conventional wisdom into reality. And even if Lerena is granted a rematch, there's no guarantee that he will ever be able to duplicate his early success against Dubois. Saturday was his moment, his opportunity, and he was denied by biased officials. 

Dubois after his victory
Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

The story of Dubois-Lerena is not necessarily a unique one, but it was a high-profile example of a common occurrence in boxing. An opponent often has to fight not just the guy in the ring, but the judges, a referee, and even the commission. On Friday during the ProBox card from Florida, I watched an "opponent," Luis Sanchez, get disqualified in the second round by referee Dennis DeBon for holding. There was absolutely nothing in Sanchez's performance that was out of the ordinary, except a referee determined to railroad him out of the ring. It was gross misconduct from DeBon, but few will be crying tears for Sanchez; it was a small club fight that lacked wider scrutiny. 

Perhaps Lerena will get more consideration and/or sympathy from the institutional powers that be (sanctioning bodies, commissions, etc.), but I wouldn't count on it. Although Lerena was a victim and was perpetrated against, he's also "Kevin Lerena." This didn't happen to Deontay Wilder or Wladimir Klitschko in England; this happened to Kevin Lerena. Maybe the WBA won't drop him too far in their rankings as a "goodwill" gesture to Lerena's promoter, longtime South African fight figure Rodney Berman. That might be the best Lerena gets. 

Ultimately, the show will go on. Not a regulatory eyebrow will be raised. There will be no disciplinary proceedings initiated against Foster or the timekeeper. This is what home cooking tastes like in boxing. And if you're coming from another part of the world, it tastes rotten.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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