It's always been difficult to dethrone a reigning Champion without stopping or knocking him out. Promoters tend to give judges approval then pay for their hotels, meals etc... If you want the gig on the next show, scratch the promoter's back. It's as old as the sport itself.
At some point fighters have to take control of their own destinies or any number of well-meaning schemes are going to be for naught. Someone, somewhere, is always going to be in need of a quick payday, and if that involves getting jobbed on the cards then so be it. As far as thing which we actually have some control over, I've long thought that setting up some sort of ranking database of judges, referees and promotors which anyone can access would give fighters the information they need to decrease incidents of corruption, but it's ultimately up to the fighters themselves to make the best use of that information.
You mean go back to the rules from 100 years ago when they fought until one of them couldn't continue? They had some long fights in those days. Lots of leaning on each other. You are right in that takes the judges out of it but probably brings it's own set of problems.
I think it changed the game a lot when they went to a fixed number of rounds. No longer did a fighter have to pace himself to outlast his rival over 50 rounds or whatever. They also allowed hitting a downed fighter as they tried to get up and had no neutral corner. It would be different that is for sure.
Yeah, it was brutal. Much more animalistic and raw, I like it. There was no TKOs at one point as well, and at one point there was a silent agreement where if there was no stoppage the fight was a draw.
Lol. That would be brutal. Might as well go bare knuckle then as well. I think for the current generation, who collectively have the attention span of a gnat, the longer, slower bouts would be an issue. Could you see AJ trying to stick and move for 35 rounds or so? That sort of boxing would not make sense any more as you really have to you hurt your opponent or get him to quit. It would be very different.
It's simple really! Get 9 judges. Place them in special viewing quarters with no sound. After the fight, you have a pick up person from whatever sanctioning committee, with a rep from each fighter, gather the score cards which are placed in a box. The box is then taken to the ring by all 3 pick up reps. 3 cards are pulled from the box and read. Any questionable scoring goes to review with all judges involved in the fight. The judge(s) with an off score will be made to watch and explain every round he scored differently from the rest of the judges.
We need better trained judges with complete independence from promoters. Peer review of judging with the poorer judges forced out of the job or retrained and made to work their way up the ladder. Anything to foster professionalism and objectivity. That means accountability and a strong enough "judges" organization to give it some teeth.
Impossible, robberies and shenanigans concerning scoring and dubious wins have always been a part of boxing. It's ingrained.