Judge CJ Ross did it again

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. 
 


 

AS EXPECTED the flamboyant American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. easily won his fight against the Mexican warrior Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last Sunday via majority decision and brought home the World Boxing Council super welterweight and World Boxing Association junior middleweight crowns. And despite the 12-round domination of the fight by Mayweather, the result was unexpectedly a majority decision because one of the judges named CJ Ross scored it a draw, 114-114. But many believe (including the boxing virtuosos at ring side) it was should have been a unanimous judgment.

I watched the fight live on cable TV with PUNCH colleague JunV with bottles of beer at Hotel Trish, the newest, biggest and most elegant tavern in my town Mangaldan. After the first three rounds, we saw how the flashy and speedy Mayweather cleanly and clearly landed telling blows from the fourth up to the twelfth rounds that convinced the two judges to score it 117-111 and 116-113 in favor of Mayweather, except the third judge Ross. Even the champ Mayweather was shocked to hear the score. Many of the spectators at MGM Grand Garden Arena booed when the tally of Ross was announced.

Well, that’s how she saw the fight but I, too, believe, she was erred. This was the second time I saw her score a world boxing title fight erroneously. The first was the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley welterweight title battle last year where the aging Ross and the other judge Duane Ford favoured Bradley, both 115-113, that cost Pacquiao his title by split decision. The two received a lot of flak from boxing experts, including Pacquiao’s archenemy Juan Manuel Marquez and especially Top Rank Promotions czar Bob Arum calling the two as “blind mice”. The sanctioning body World Boxing Organization (WBO) announced, after reviewing the tape many times, that the Filipino icon clearly won the clash but unfortunately they cannot overturn the decision of the judges. And now she did it again. What a woman.

Ross needs to be evaluated by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) and be reprimanded, and suspended if necessary. NAC is the professional sports body of Nevada State that issues licenses to boxing judges, referees, promoters, organizers, etc.

In short, Ross should not be judging fights worth hundreds of millions of dollars that) could jeopardize the career of a good boxer. I figure the aging Ross already lacks the ability to judge a delicate world title match. Her capacity to judge is really now questionable. I’m not a hypocrite and I’ll admit that sometimes I might be biased for a Mexican or for a Filipino boxer every time they fight against a different blood. That’s because of my Fil-Mex lineage. But last Sunday’s fight was so clear that the undefeated and number one pound-for-pound king Mayweather was too damn good against the younger boxer Alvarez. Yes, I was generous to give the first three rounds to him, but after the third, Mayweather was very well in control and only Ross saw it the other way around.

The question now is: Will the long overdue Mayweather-Pacquiao encounter push through if Pacquiao wins his fight on November 25 against Brandon Rios of Mexico? I don’t think so, that’s if Mayweather will be asked to fight in 147 pounds. For sure he will be dehydrated like what happened to Oscar De La Hoya when he fought Pacquiao. It was a disaster for the Golden Boy losing by technical knockout because of dehydration. Mayweather may ask a catchweight of 152 pounds, his natural bulk, and that will be a huge advantage for him. But I don’t think Pacquiao will take the bait. This is too dangerous for the fighting congressman from Sarangani because he’s too short for this load. And if it should happen, I think Pacquiao’s camp won’t let Ross be one of the judges anymore. They learned a big lesson. Amen.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: And Jesus Christ said “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. MATTHEW 24: 29-30

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