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Attention Boxing World: Tyson Cave Got Screwed by the Judges and Time to Do Something About IT!

Do you think Tyson Cave should have gotten the decision in his fight against Oscar Escandon?

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Tyson CaveBy Lou Eisen

Canadian Tyson Cave fought an almost perfect fight against his opponent, the dramatically overmatched Oscar Escandon this past Thursday night at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Cali. Cave, from Halifax, Canada swept all 12 rounds as he gave the best performance of his career thus far, while giving Escandon a thorough boxing lesson along the way. Cave used pinpoint punching, a fast jab and educated feet to run away with the fight.

Cave left very little if any doubt that he was indeed the new interim WBA World Super Bantamweight Champion. Unfortunately for Cave and the sport of boxing, two of the three judges scoring the fight, Raul Caiz, JR. and Tony Creb did not see it that way and awarded the fight and along with it, the WBA interim super bantamweight title to Escandon.

Cave used his slick boxing skills and masterful ring generalship to win every round by a fairly wide margin. Cave moved in and out of range with the greatest of ease. Cave’s superior hand speed made all of the difference as he repeatedly beat Escandon to the punch with quick multi-punch combinations. He also consistently turned Escandon, thus never allowing him to set his feet in order to punch with any authority. Escandon had nothing to offer back except for wild, amateurish swings. Given the experience of both Caiz, JR. and Crebs, it is extremely difficult to believe that their scorecards were simply inept. Their respective scorecards gave the appearance of being purposely biased in Escandon’s favor, whether they were or not.

Former president Harry S. Truman once famously said, “The buck stops here.” What was he referring to? Truman’s statement simply meant that as the President, he alone is responsible for the actions of his government. The same goes with Andy Foster, the Executive Director of the California State Athletic Commission. Foster must be held accountable for the scorecards of Caiz, JR.and Crebs. He needs to take action now to send out a clear and concise message to fans, the media and the fighters themselves that such abominable scoring will no longer be tolerated in the great state of California.

The incredulous fans in the audience and those at home watching on ESPN must have been absolutely stupefied when they heard the decision being announced. Teddy Atlas’s anger-filled tirade after the fight was appreciated all around the boxing world. He told the truth and expressed the outrage felt by fans and fighters everywhere. Although most fight fans probably do not realize this but it is a safe bet that no one is ever as angry at terrible judging and refereeing as other boxing judges and referees. The reasons for their anger are obvious. Biased and inept scoring as displayed by Caiz, JR. and Crebs gives their entire profession a black eye.

After dominating all 12 rounds of his bout with Escandon, Cave was adjudged the loser of the fight by a split decision. I do not know why or how Caiz, JR.or Crebs scored the fight for Escandon. I only know that the behavior of these two now tainted judges has much more than a whiff of impropriety about it. Even the mere appearance of impropriety is bad for the sport, but Raul Caiz, JR.and Tony Crebs, went down a path this past Thursday night that should permanently disqualify them from judging any and all future title fights.

The truly sad thing about such egregious judging is that it is now accepted as commonplace in pro boxing. Fans are so used to seeing fighters get cheated on a regular basis that they now expect it to happen in every fight. If such judges are allowed to continue judging fights, it will have dire repercussions for the sport. Like no other sport on this earth, boxing excels at shooting itself in the foot. Yet, the people running (ruining) the sport are almost absurdly oblivious to the epidemic of inept judging and incompetent refereeing that has taken hold of the sport like an antibiotic resistant virus.

Actually, truth be told, commission officials are well aware of what is going on with their judges and refs. They just don’t care because they have so little respect for the fighters and the fans. Every time an incompetent judge like Raul Caiz, JR.is allowed to score a fight there is a very real risk that the winner of the fight will not receive his well-earned victory.

Perhaps the most galling thing about this heinous decision against Cave and other similar horrific decisions, is that they are so prevalent in boxing today that the judges involved do not even make any attempts to hide what they are doing. They operate with impunity because they know that NO ONE will ever do anything about it. Noted boxing author Adam J. Pollock said that the CSAC is an old boys club, and that judges and refs are chosen because of their friendships with the people in charge rather than their talents, or lack thereof. It is time that boxing commissioners be held to account for the criminal ineptitude of their judges and referees.

Fighters lose a lot more than a fight when they are victimized purposely by terrible judges. They also lose revenues from possible future fights. After seeing many bad decisions in boxing, you get the feeling that the judges and not the fighters are the ones who should be undergoing drug testing before and after the fights.

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