Oscar de la Hoya-Shane Mosley II has stirred the emotions of boxing fans all over the world. The decision rendered in the state of Nevada by judges Duane Ford, Anek Hontampek and Stanley Christodoulou has certainly created a whirl of controversy. However, there are other issues -legal and ethical- that cry out for public attention and resolution. I would like to address them here...
It all began after reading a Kevin Iole's article in the Las Vegas Review Journal several days ago. Said read indicated that the WBA did not appoint judge Stanley Christodoulou to officiate the championship rematch; the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) did, and after some research -and much to my amazement- an assortment of problems became quite apparent.
I confirmed that in late August the WBA had submitted a letter to the Nevada Commission recommending five neutral judges for the bout; Mr. Christodoulou was not one of them. Depending on whose version you wish to believe, the letter was either ignored or never received by the NSAC who subsequently decided to contact and assign Mr. Christodoulou directly without notifying the WBA. While it is true that federal law dictates that state commissions name the officials, a courtesy call, some discussion and informing the boxers and promoters would have been proper.
The WBA considers Mr. Christodoulou as one of the best judges in the world, however, they did become quite concerned with his assignment since he is a member of the organization's Ratings Committee, and thus, the brain trust at the WBA felt Mr. Christodoulou was not the best choice for the job at hand. Hold it! Rewind!! Mr. Christodoulou is a member of the committee that ranks boxers for the WBA? The same committee that highly ranked the co-star of the September 13th show although he was winless in two years? What -if anything- is wrong with that picture?
Doing some further research I came upon an article written by respected veteran judge Harold Lederman. In reference to the John Ruiz-Roy Jones, Jr. championship bout, which also took place in Sin City, Harold Lederman notes that he viewed Mr. Christodoulou's assignment to that fiasco as a conflict since Mr. Christodoulou was a member of the Ratings Committee. By the way, Mr. Christodoulou is also listed on the WBA website as a member of their Executive Committee and the President of the Pan African Association, a WBA regional body.
Has anyone involved here so far ever heard of the Muhammad Ali Act? More on that in a minute...
Unofficial allegations had been flying around that the Association of Boxing Commissions was planning to inform its members about their opinion -or shall we say interpretation- of the Muhammad Ali Act as it applied to boxing officials. The ABC's position was rumored to be that those officials who are licensed in the United States and who also hold positions in sanctioning body committees were in violation of the Muhammad Ali Act. The WBA -although apparently quite concerned about this situation as it affected some of its members- didn't jump into the fray, instead opting to take a wait and see attitude.
The alleged rumors regarding the ABC's position are partly true because I have learned that Armando Garcia, an international and knowledgeable referee recently resigned his position as Chairman of the WBA International Official's Committee after having received notification from the ABC that he was in violation of the Ali Act by being a licensed referee in the state of Florida and holder of the WBA position.
Well, I ask, isn't this the same scenario that applies to Mr. Christodoulou? We attempted to speak to the usually personable Armando Garcia who much to our disappointment declined comment.
It is our intention to get to the bottom of this whether Mr. Garcia wants to talk to us or not. In my eyes there are far greater conflicts in boxing, including in my own home state of Florida, that may require a closer look, and further investigation, but let's save that for another day.
With the doubt meter boiling at a high level, and in the interest of fairness, the question that comes to mind is this. Why didn't the ABC immediately notify Nevada of the obvious conflict involving Mr. Christodoulou? Why didn't they flex their muscle in his case as they did with referee Garcia?
Rewind to the state of Nevada and here the plot really thickens... Who assigned Mr. Christodoulou? Some say it was Marc Ratner, Executive Director of the NSAC; others say it was Commissioner Flip Homansky. Ratner and Homansky are close associates of the President of the ABC, Tim Lueckenhoff, and one can't help but wonder the obvious... Did they ever discuss this matter? Were they ever concerned about violating a federal law?
What's the point you may ask? In this writer's opinion, the point is this... Shane Mosley, a great fighter and human being, was winless in two of his last three fights, with a no contest in the last match, yet, was ranked in the top five of the WBA rankings by their rankings committee, the same ranking committee that Mr. Christodoulou is a member of. Subsequently, Mr. Christodoulou is assigned by the NSAC to score the Mosley bout and Mosley wins a fight many believe he didn't win.
"That was information I needed yesterday!" may be screaming Bob Arum, ala Adam Sandler in the flick "The Wedding Singer," as he reads this article.
In my article entitled "Mosley Didn't Beat Oscar, The Judges Did" I made an editorial reference to a case of poetic justice or three blind mice judging this fight. Let me be clear, I am not hereby suggesting or implying that Mr. Christodoulou is a corrupt judge and I certainly don't know a thing about the much publicized conspiracy theory, but the law is the law, and it should be obeyed and implemented to its fullest. It applies to all of us, doesn't it?
The WBA's ninth inning attempt at removing Mr. Christodoulou from his assignment for this fight was a good thing. However, in my very humble opinion, more is needed. The WBA should take further action and inform the public what they are doing or will do -if anything- regarding this matter. Even if it means fighting the ABC on their interpretation of the law.
Did Nevada extend an invitation to break the law by assigning Mr. Christodoulou to officiate Oscar de la Hoya vs Shane Mosley II? You be the judge ...
Next up: Conflicts
Anyone?
