Russia Accuses Olympic Boxing Of Shadiness [London Olympics]

At this point, boxing couldn't even beat its rap as a sham if it paid off every person who ever thought about boxing. Things are especially bad for your sport, though, when the Russians are accusing you of being below board. That's exactly what Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko has said about the London Olympics, specifically lamenting the Russian results in both men's and women's boxing.

"The Brits are just as [bad] as [the Chinese] in Beijing," Mutko told Russian media on Saturday. "Here in London everyone wants the British to win. They have a very strong political support."

"Three of our boxers had been prevented from reaching the final," Mutko said, referring to the light-flyweight David Ayrapetyan, flyweight Misha Aloian and welterweight Andrei Zamkovoy, who lost their semi-final bouts. Ayrapetyan lost to Thailand's Kaeo Pongprayoon 13-12, Aloian lost to Mongolia's Tugstsogt Nyambayar 15-11, while Zamkovoy lost to Kazakhstan's Serik Sapiyev 18-12.

I know what you're thinking. "Prevented from reaching the final?" That does sound shady, but if you do a google translate for Paranoid Russian, it just means "lost."

Mutko added that Britain's boxers may have benefited by a partisan home crowd swaying the judges. "[The British] are planning a happy end in boxing tomorrow," he said after three British men advanced to Sunday's finals.

Expect Olympic organizers to kick Mutko out of the arena shortly.

Russian sports minister accuses Britain of unfair play at London 2012 [Guardian]

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Teddy Atlas And Bob Papa Kicked Out Of Boxing Arena; NBC Doesn't Really Care Because No One From The U.S. Is In Contention [London Olympics]

The International Amateur Boxing Association claimed that NBC's announcers were "disturbing" the judges with their criticism and requested that organizers remove them from their ringside position. NBC was the only entity granted a ringside position and organizers politely suggested that maybe they take their microphones and judging critiques to the space reserved for the rest of the commoners. Since there are no Americans left to contend for a medal, NBC said thanks, but no thanks.

"NBC commentators were offered a booth in the media tribune like other broadcasters because they were very disturbing for AIBA officials - even during bouts they were not broadcasting - being located at the edge of the Field of Play," an AIBA spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

"They claimed that since no boxers from the USA were still in the running, they didn't want to stay anyway."

NBC hasn't ditched boxing altogether, though. It still has a camera on site and will record the action and then add commentary from New York. If NBC's Olympic coverage actually came anywhere near sports reporting, or sports broadcasting, we might say this is a despicable act of censorship. But this is not censorship, it's just two heavyweights trying to out-farce one another. It's entertainment.

Image via Getty
NBC Olympic boxing announcers leave in dispute with IBA [SI]
Boxing: NBC asked to cease ringside commentary [Yahoo]

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Claressa Shields Won The First Women's Gold Medal In USA Boxing History [Video]

Claressa Shields won the women's middleweight division today, bringing home the first gold in USA women's boxing history, at the first Games where women's boxing was granted a spot. Shields beat Sweden's Anna Laurell in the quarterfinals, Kazakhstan's Marina Volnova in the semifinals, and Russia's Nadezda Torlopova for the gold. In the clip above, you can see some of Shields's better moments (including a savage left-handed jab at the end) against the beleaguered Russian. At 33, Torlopova is nearly double Shields's age. It wasn't really close—Shields was up five after three rounds, and ended up putting the fight away 19-12 on points. The nearest the fighter from Flint came to a loss in London was a minor scare against Laurell, whom she beat 18-14.

One of the stranger things about sorting through the noise surrounding the female boxing team in advance of the Olympics is that every profile of the fighters in the US delegation—Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, and Shields—either said outright or quoted someone saying that its subject was the USA's best chance at gold (check out the "scouting reports from home country" in the field guide.) Underwood had a tough draw (she ended up losing in the quarterfinals), and Esparza came away with a bronze, but it was the 17-year-old Shields that looked dominant. Considering her opponents were 23, 32, and 33, Shields should have a chance to collect a lot of hardware throughout her career. That is, if the US boxing ecosystem proves itself able to support female boxers between quadrennials.

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Another Ridiculous Olympic Boxing Decision Gets Reversed [Video]

The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) has reversed a dubious decision in yet another Olympic boxing match, this one involving American welterweight Errol Spence Jr. and India's Krishan Vikas. Spence lost yesterday's bout with Vikas when the judges scored the fight 13-11 in favor of Vikas, a decision that seemed ridiculous to most who had watched the fight. In the video above you can even see the referee begin to raise Spence's hand as the decision was being handed down, assuming that he had won.

The match was close going into the third round. Vikas had taken the first round 4-2, and Spence fought back in the second round to take it 5-6, but the judges scored the third round 4-3 in favor of Vikas, despite the fact that Spence was in clear control of the fight at that point and Vikas was only interested in holding (he grabbed Spence nine separate times in the third round) throughout the round.

It was Vikas's incessant holding that led to the decision being overturned. From the AIBA's official decision:

There were a total of nine (9) holding fouls committed by the Indian boxer in the third round alone. However the Referee only gave one caution;

Based on the AIBA Technical & Competition Rules 12.1.9, the Referee should have given at least two (2) warnings to the Indian boxer;

Based on Decision #1, at least four (4) points should have been awarded to the boxer from the USA. Therefore the final score should be 13:15 in favour of the USA. The protest is accepted and the winner of Bout #142 is Errol Spence (USA).

It's great that this decision was set right, just as the disgraceful decision that was laid on Satoshi Shimizu was, but any sport that consistently needs to have its results overturned by a ruling body is not in good shape. Olympic boxing continues to demonstrate that it is plagued with what is either a lack of integrity or competence. Hopefully that will change someday.

AIBA overturns the result of Bout #142 [AIBA]

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If You're In NYC Tonight, Come Hear Some Good Writers Talk Boxing And Soccer [Readings]

Aug 2, 2012 2:50 PM  

It's time for another edition of Gelf's excellent Varsity Letters reading series. This month's slate features former Washington Post staffer and veteran boxing writer William Gildea, the author Theresa Runstedtler (who has written about boxing legend Jack Johnson), and GQ's Mark Kirby, who will discuss his forthcoming soccer magazine, Howler. It's tonight at 7:30 at Le Poisson Rouge. Go!

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Was This Disgraceful Olympic Boxing Match Fixed? [Video]

Knockdowns are exceedingly rare in Olympic boxing. Japan's Satoshi Shimizu knocked down Azerbaijan's Magomed Abdulhamidov five times in the third and final round of their bantamweight bout yesterday. And yet, the judges scored the round in favor of the one who spent more time on the canvas than on his feet.

"I was shocked by the final scores. He fell down so many times," Shimizu said. "Why didn't I win? I don't understand."

After Abdulhamidov was awarded the 22-17 victory over Shimizu, the uproar began. Fans rained boos from the stands, and Japanese officials immediately lodged a protest. It was, by any account, the biggest competitive disgrace of the Olympics so far. And there's reason to ask if this was more than the usual Olympic boxing incompetence, but rather something more sinister.

Last September, BBC Newsnight presented evidence that Azerbaijan had paid millions of dollars in an international boxing organization, in return for a guarantee that two Azerbaijanis would win gold medals at these London Olympics. They found documents showing a $9 million bank transfer, funneled through Switzerland, to a boxing organization owned by AIBA, which oversees Olympic boxing. Whistleblowers reported that the money came from an Azerbaijan government minister, and were strictly a cash-for-medals exchange.

"Ivan boasted to a few of us that there was no need to worry about World Series Boxing having the coin to pay its bills. As long as the Azeris got their medals, WSB would have the cash."

Another said that Mr Khodabakhsh came in and said: "We are safe now - Azerbaijan came in - we have to give them medals for that."

"He was talking about gold medals in London in return for millions of dollars of secret payments," the insider added. "Medals are being sold so blatantly it's amazing."

Azerbaijan denied the allegations, and an AIBA committee found them groundless. (The $9M was deemed to be a "purely commercial investment.") But here we are! Azerbaijan's Abdulhamidov was awarded a win he didn't come close to earning.

This one has a happy ending, sort of. Late last night, AIBA officials upheld Japan's appeal, and awarded the bout to Shimizu. Their statement:

After reviewing the video of Bout #105 involving Bantamweights Satoshi Shimizu (Japan) and Magomed Abdulhamidov (Azerbaijan), the Competition Jury made the following decision:

- The boxer from Azerbaijan fell down six (6) times during the 3rd round. According to our rules, the Referee should have counted at least three (3) times. In this case, following the AIBA Technical & Competition Rules, the decision should have been RSC (Referee Stop Contest);

- Therefore the protest lodged by the Japanese corner is accepted and the result of this bout overturned.

AIBA officials will consider on Thursday morning whether to sanction the referee of this bout.

Shimizu moves on. Abdulhamidov goes home. The Turkmenistani ref may be punished for not stopping the fight. The judges? Nothing happens to them. Olympic boxing remains a joke.

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