IBO Boxing Honesty and Integrity
By Scoop Malinowski
Boxing commissions should hire former boxers as professional boxing judges. They are more qualified to judge boxing than any person, especially one who never competed inside the ring. Former professional boxers have dedicated much of their lives to the art of ring generalship and fighting to earn prize money. They know, they understand the intricate details and nuances of how boxing works and how to determine which boxer did the better job of winning the fight. Former prizefighters possess the understanding of the criteria of ring generalship and effective aggression better than any fan or hobbyist. Of this there is no doubt.
I first recommended this innovation over ten years ago in a column I wrote for Boxing Insider. A lot of people agreed with it but unfortunately no actions were taken.
Employing former professional boxers as ringside judges of official pro fights would be a positive step for many reasons. It would surely help clean up one of boxing’s biggest problems – inept scoring by current judges. It also would give former boxers employment and opportunity. It would also be a positive news item for the sport as much of the sports media would take note of this unique innovation and publish stories about it.
It would also put former prominent boxers back into the public eye in a positive way.
If boxing wants to compete in the marketplace of the future, it must begin to make changes to the overall image of the sport. One of those changes should be the serious consideration of implementing the hiring of former professional boxers such as Renaldo Snipes, Gerry Cooney, Iran Barkley, Richie Kates, Ivan Robinson, Richard Pierson, Andrew Golota, Pawel Wolak, Michael Olajide Jr., etc. as part-time pro boxing judges.
