Worse olympic robbery? Holyfield or Jones?

There was lots of funny business going on in those Olympics. THere is a great interview with Ken Adams, then Olympic head coach, at those Olympics, wherein he not only alleges that the Jones fight was fixed, but that the Bowe-Lewis fight was fixed also, which is why the referee stopped it so quickly. Bowe was entitled to three 8-counts in a round and 4 in a bout before it was stopped, but it was only two in that second round and the ref stopped it, even though Bowe was standing with his legs underneath him and ready to continue. Ken alleged that he had witnesses who saw money exchanged. Apparently nothing ever came of it, but clearly he knew something was fishy.

 

I think it's pretty well known among Korean sports fans that the Jones robbery was payback for their fighters being robbed by the Americans.Sucks for jones though.

The oympics have become totally corrupt and political.

 

I remember watching the Roy Jones fight live on NBC as a kid. I was stunned when I saw he lost the fight. What I remember most afterwards, was the interview right after the fight. He was so sad and I remember him saying that he wasn't sure if wanted to continue with boxing after such a horrific deicision. I have always had a soft spot for Roy because of this.

This may explain, as I have read, why Roy was so reluctant to travel overseas for a fight when he was in his prime.

 

Jones without doubt. I always wanted Jones to do well after this and I'm glad he did.

 

That video is biased and misleading. Notice how they conveniently left out the sound of the bout so that you cannot hear the referee yell "stop" then Holyfield throw the puch. The ref said "stop" a second time instinctually as he saw Holy throw on the break.

Also, what you will not notice if you do not watch the entire bout, was that Holy hit after the referee said break or stop on numerous other occasions.

Here is the ironic twist to it all. The referee was likely going to disqualify Barry for holding. That's why he commanded "stop." He had already taken two points off for holding. Another warning was going to lead to a dq. Barry held, the referee commanded 'stop,' as they do before they issue a warning, which would have lead to the dq of Barry. However, Holy did not contain himself, and threw a combo. The right to the body I could buy, but that hook was definitely started after the command to stop was issued. When you render a boxer unable to continue as a result of a harm foul, you get disqualified. An unfortunate course of events, but NOT a robbery, despite the fact that Holy was ten times the fighter that anyone else was in that tournament.

 

You've got to be freakin kidding us all.......

.....do you honestly expect a fighter to be able to hear a command from a ref who was way out of range, and instantaneosly stop his combination?

I cant hear the ref yelling "stop" in the video that Pharoah posted, but I think we can both agree it came right after Holyfield landed the right hand to the body.....
....now I dont know if you've ever boxed, but when you throw a combination like that, the thought process as you're unleaching the right to the body is to already know that you're going to follow it up with the left to the head.
.....in other words, Holyfield already had a mental picture in his mind to throw the left hook to the head before that right hand even landed.

.....that was a poor excuse for a referee, noticed how he extended his hand to break after the KO shot had landed.

....if you want fighters to break, get in there and break them for Gods sake!

.....the funny thing is that even though Holyfield's opponet outstretched his arm to hold Holyfield, there was no real reason to break the fighters, as Holyfield was still throwing shots.

Why did the ref yell break, when Holyfield hands were loose and throwing?

 

Actually it is very well possible to stop a combination, divac. Holyfield went on with it on purpose because...... well, boxers are dirty and Holyfield is no different. As appolack stated, he was dirty all along.


Either way, it doesn't compare to what they did to Jones in Seoul.

 

Yeah, thats why Holyfield's opponent went to Holyfield and raised his hand, and then at the medal stand looked ashamed to even be there!

Wow, some of these Tyson groupies still cant get over the trouncings!:yep

 

hadnt seen that Holyfield footage before. Some absolutely brilliant sportsmanship from Barry. What a legend! A lot of people in the game today could learn a lot from that!

 

That is because he got the **** beat out of him. Did i ever deny that?

Would you say Golota was robbed against Bowe?

What does Tyson have to do with this? We are discussing Holyfield's amateur carrier.

 

".....do you honestly expect a fighter to be able to hear a command from a ref who was way out of range, and instantaneosly stop his combination?"

Yes, happens all the time in the amateurs. I have gone to about 4 national amateur tournaments a year, and as a general rule, when the referee says "stop", the boxers stop. If they don't, they can be penalized or disqualified. Holyfield's punch was not already in the process of being launched when the referee said 'stop.' Rather, the right was being launched. That means he could have stopped the left. The left did not follow instantaneously off the right, but there was a very brief moment of pause after the right in which the left was slightly drawn back. That means he had that moment to react to the ref's command. Maybe he couldn't. But it was a judgment call. Maybe the referee was wrong. But just because he was wrong in a close and debatable call does not mean Holyfield was robbed.

I don't think the ref was out of position, or so far out of position that the command could not be heard. It is clearly audible on the video.


".....that was a poor excuse for a referee, noticed how he extended his hand to break after the KO shot had landed."

No hand gesture necessary for a command to stop, and the boxers wouldn't see it anyway. A red herring.

"....if you want fighters to break, get in there and break them for Gods sake!"

Wrong. In the amateurs, a referee does not physically break the boxers. They are expected to respond to the referee's verbal commands. Regardless, the referee did not command a break, but rather "Stop."

".....the funny thing is that even though Holyfield's opponet outstretched his arm to hold Holyfield, there was no real reason to break the fighters, as Holyfield was still throwing shots."

Actually, the referee commanded stop, probably to warn Barry for holding. If you want to criticize the referee for anything, it is that he did not take command of the bout soon enough. He should have been taking points off Barry even sooner for his incessant holding. The sad part about all this is that Holyfield did not need to be so excited and overanxious in that bout. He was going to win easily even if Barry had gone the distance. But he was so amped to hit Barry and knock him out, as he had done with his other opponents, that he was continuing to punch after commands to stop and break and after the bell.

"Why did the ref yell break, when Holyfield hands were loose and throwing?[/quote]"

He ordered them to stop, most likely, to warn Barry for holding.

Look, I too was upset about the whole thing. I thought it sucked that Evander didn't get the gold. But even if you want to say that the referee was garbage, I don't think he was fixed like the judges were in Seoul for Roy Jones. However, what bothers me most, and what looked fishy was the fact that the referee was from Yugoslavia, and the finalist Holy was to meet was from Yugoslavia. You could argue that it was convenient for him to dq the guy who had the best shot to beat his guy. That sucks. I do not think those types of conflicts of interest should be allowed. Reflects poorly on the sport.

It wasn't Barry who brought Holyfield onto the top rung of the podium, but rather the gold medalist from Yugoslavia.