It mystifies me how some yell bloody murder here if a close fight goes one way or the other, forever claiming someone got jobbed. Heaven forbid there should ever be a hotly contested bout that goes to the cards. Let's try to blow this up a little. Which of the following could fairly be called robberies, in the strictest definition of the word? Chavez-Whitaker Ali-Young Pintor-Zarate Gomez-Lockridge Leonard-Hagler Leonard-Hearns 2
I've stopped calling anything a robbery now. There can be fights I disagree with but ultimately it's a subjective sport and every decision that I disagree with can be countered with a justification by those who disagree with me. Sure I thought Whittaker won but there's those who see it as a draw so who's to say I know more than they do? Doesn't mean I agree with them but calling something a robbery no longer sits well with me.
For me, a robbery is a fight where a 65% or more of the collective opinion among informed fight observers believe the loser should have won or drew. By "informed", I mean respectable media observers such as Bad Left Hook, USA Today, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sherdog, MMA, Bleacher Report, and credible YouTube vloggers like Mike Montero, Doug Fisher, etc. Promoters, exboxers, and race baiting YouTube channels are often partial for an assortment of reasons so their opinions hold little weight for me. So for example, Im guessing Kovalev vs Ward 1 would qualify, GGG vs Alvarez 1+2, Pacquiao vs Bradley 1, and Pacquiao vs Horn. Close fights that would probably not qualify are Pacquiao vs Marquez 1+2, GGG vs Jacobs, Alvarez vs Cotto, etc. Mind you these are speculations on my part about the the 65% media threshold for the fights Ive listed, but I suspect most qualify.
Seems a strangely exact yet random qualification number there. Without going through to see what all those other people thought, would you yourself call the OP list "robberies?"
Out of the ones you listed I only have an issue with Ali Young. I believe it was a gift to Ali. I have to rewatch Gomez Rocky. Think Gomez edged it if memory serves me correctly
Chavez-Whitaker and Gomez-Lockridge stand out as blatant ripoffs. I think the others were close fights probably scored incorrectly. Probably Zarate-Pintor would be a robbery too.
I call this a robbery. I think my score was a bit conservative, as I have seen others with a more one-sided for Rocky, but this is how I saw it. Round 1: 10-9 Lockridge Round 2: 10-9 Gomez Round 3: 10-10 Even Round 4: 10-10 Even Round 5: 10-9 Gomez Round 6: 10-9 Lockridge Round 7: 10-9 Lockridge Round 8: 10-9 Lockridge Round 9: 10-9 Lockridge Round 10: 10-9 Lockridge (very close to being a 10-8 for Rocky) Round 11: 10-9 Gomez Round 12: 10-9 Gomez Round 13: 10-10 Even Round 14: 10-9 Lockridge Round 15: 10-9 Lockridge Total: 146-142 Lockridge
For me, Chavez-Whitaker and Gomez-Lockridge are the only true robberies on that list. Circumstance and motive contribute a lot to the equation. Chavez's daddy was protecting him in the Whitaker fight , and you aren't beating Gomez by decision in Puerto Rico. All he had to do was stand at the final bell. If he does that, he takes home the title.
