New Jersey suspends Williams-Lara judges

[Pythagoras]

Erislandy Lara will still have a loss on his record that he does not deserve, but his complaints of a robbery in his fight with Paul Williams on Saturday in Atlantic City, N.J., received an unexpected boost Wednesday when the New New Jersey indefinitely suspended judges Al Bennett, Hilton Whitaker and Don Givens on Wednesday for their work in the fight, which was broadcast on HBO. A big underdog, Lara lost a majority decision by scores of 116-114 (Givens), 115-114 (Whitaker) and 114-114 (Bennett) in a bout that nearly all who saw it other than the judges and those affiliated with Williams (40-2) felt Lara won convincingly.




HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Lederman, a long-time professional judge, had it 117-111 for Lara (15-1-1). Former world champion Roy Jones Jr. was outraged by the call and likened it to the decision against him at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, that is widely regarded as one of the worst boxing judgments in history. Yahoo! Sports scored Saturday’s bout for Lara, 116-112.

After a review, New Jersey officials did not determine the decision to be corrupt and, as a result, found no basis for overturning it.

In a statement, Aaron M. Davis, commissioner of the NJSACB, said he was “unsatisfied with the scoring of the contest.”

“This agency has placed all three judges on indefinite suspension,” Davis stated. “Further, all three judges will be required to undergo additional training prior to their return to professional boxing judging.

“Any contestant who enters a ring or cage in our state deserves the best officiating that we can provide. While we do not mean to diminish Mr. Williams’ competitive spirit and exciting style, we feel that we did not provide our best officiating on July 9.”

New Jersey suspends Williams-Lara judges - Boxing - Yahoo! Sports

Serves them right , hope this is just the begining .