Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect the opinions of Generation Iron
Looks like this weekend there was a ton questionable judges calls.
As a fan of combat sports you come to realize that there are times when things just simply don’t go your way. This past weekend featured a couple of events that hit pretty close to the vest. Firstly, I witnessed first hand as one of my fighters ended up on the wrong end of a judges decision in an amateur mixed martial arts fight, a bout which many in attendance disagreed with. Then there is there was the event that far more individuals were privy to, namely the Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin match. Outside of combat sports however, there were many fans who believed that the Mr. Olympia event crowned the wrong winner. Which leads me to the question of judging in sports in general. Just how can you be sure things are fair and square?
There’s no real simple answer to that of course, but we can certainly explore the mindset that should be considered when judging a sporting event. Rather than focusing on what athlete is more marketable, we should instead be considering who is the deserving party. Sure, that may be a view that is somewhat short sighted and naive, yet it’s the kind of mindset one would need in order to clean up judging in sports.
Canelo Alvarez versus Gennady Golovkin was a competitive bout that ended in a draw. But the most controversial part of the fight wasn’t the fact that the fight was close, but that one judge scored the bout overwhelmingly in Canelo’s favor, a verdict that many didn’t agree with. While many believed that Canelo may have won, scoring the match 118-110 is damn near criminal and doesn’t give an accurate assessment of the fight that took place this past weekend.
On the bodybuilding side we saw Phil Heath win his seventh consecutive Olympia title in the Men’s Open Weight division. Many in attendance believed that Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay deserved the win instead, yet despite that fact the Egyptian had to settle for second place. But it seems that the fans are up in arms and many believe that there is favoritism being shown to the long reigning champion. It’s enough to make one question everything about the sport they love.
So how do we solve the judging issue in sports? The truth of the matter is that unless judges are held accountable and sync their views with everyone else in attendance then there’s unlikely to be a change. Judging is by no means an easy job, but there are times where decisions are simply unreasonable. This weekend highlighted that in combat sports as well as events like bodybuilding that the judges can get things wrong. It’s up to us as fans as well as the sanctioning bodies put in place to protect the integrity of these respective sports to ensure that we hold judges accountable in order to bring about change. But as the old saying says, “You can’t beat city hall,” and that’s a reality that unfortunately will hold true for years to come.
What do you think about all the judging this weekend?
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Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
