Undefeated
Mikey Garcia won his first world title ... but it wasn't an entirely satisfying win. Garcia knocked WBO featherweight champ
Orlando Salido down four times in the first four rounds but an accidental headbutt late in round eight broke Garcia's nose. The bout was stopped and went to the cards with Garcia comfortably ahead: 79-70 and 79-69 twice.
Undefeated Gennady Golovkin retained his WBA middleweight belt with a seventh round TKO of game but outgunned challenger Gabriel Rosado. Rosada was a bloody mess when his corner threw in the towel in round seven to protect him from any further damage.
Juan Carlos Burgos did more than enough to take the WBO junior lightweight belt from Roman "Rocky" Martinez ... but two of the three judges were watching another fight. After 12 rounds, it was clear to the crowd in attendance, watching at home and from ringside that Burgos was the new champ. Unfortunately for Burgos, only judge Waleska Roldan scored the fight accurately: 117-111 for Burgos. Judge John Signorile scored it a draw (114-114) and judge Tony Paolillo turned in an indefensible scorecard of 116-112 for Martinez. Incompetent and corrupt scoring continues to plague boxing, driving away it's ever-eroding fan base and preventing new fans from embracing the sport. It would be so easy to reduce the likelihood of horrible decisions if anyone with any power - promoters, sanctioning bodies, athletic commissions, cable TV networks, etc. - truly cared enough to make improving the quality of judging a priority.
One long-time fight fan from New York wrote in and suggested the following: "You might consider putting the email address of the NY State Athletic Commission [athletic@dos.ny.gov ] on your site so people can email their displeasure with the judging of the Burgos fight last night. It's one thing to have this kind of outrage in Texas but for a NY judge in Madison Square Garden to give Rocky Martinez 8 rounds of that fight is an abomination."
I couldn't agree more: athletic@dos.ny.gov
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