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		G	S	B	Tot
1	CHN	51	21	28	100
2	USA	36	38	36	110
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Computer says no!

Scrap the Olympic system before it ruins amateur boxing

Last Updated 23rd August 2008

Williams: shocking decision

Wayne McCullough has seen enough! He wants the Olympic scoring system to be scrapped. < Back to Story

Comments

Sam Yates says...

I totaly agree with the coments here. I have sat down with my brother who incidently is a boxer himself and been totaly shocked by some of the decisons in the boxing at this olympics something certainly needs to be done

Posted 15:11 24th August 2008

Lee Kershaw says...

What an interesting read!! I have to admit i was unsure how the scoring system worked and was growing more and more frustrated watching the olympic boxing this week. But having read this i realise its not all down to the judges being bias towards the home fav (although i bet it was a big part). The scoring system seems to be an attempt by the olympics to take on more technology, but they should have realised in the last 16 years that its just not working. Something needs to be done or when the olympics come to London then we will be in for the same critisms!!

Posted 15:02 24th August 2008

Sean Ferguson says...

Yeah i agree 100% with Wayne. I was never a big fan of the scoring system but this year has just confirmed what i already knew. The scoring system has to go before London 2012. The match he spoke about was the biggest miscarriage of justice i've ever seen in an Olympic ring. Like Wayne said, the American was the clear winner yet when it came to the olmpic scoring system he was a clear loser! Something has to be done and done before London. What is wrong with just having 3 judges like the Pro ranks? Surely that is more likely to work rather than this awful computer system.

Posted 13:09 24th August 2008

Steve Chinner says...

I heartily agree with Wayne that things need to change and before London 2012, however how many "bad" points decision's do we still see in the professional game from ringside judges. I feel the noble sport of boxing needs dragging into the 21st century where the human factor is taken out of scoring. I'm sure with all the technology flying around an acurate system could be developed long before 2012.

Posted 13:00 24th August 2008

Lee Courtney says...

Wayne is clearly right this is shown by the fact that he is criticising a system that benefited him. Another nonsense with the system is only 1 point for a knockdown or standing eight count. This means that a fighter who gets a count actually just benefits from a little break without any extra points gained by his oponent. The most ridiculous expose of the flaws of the system was Bradley Saunders stopping an oponent with a body shot that the computer (three slow judges) didn't even score. I would also like the fights to go back to the traditional 3 3's as opposed to 2 2's with three scoring judges (no computer) and the ref scoring exactly the same criteria for pro fights just over the shorter distance!

Posted 11:43 24th August 2008

Fintan Farrell says...

totally agree 100 percent with everything wayne says.this games has been a complete and utter shambles,esp the boxing side of it,i had ken egan 8-7 ahead at the end of round 3 but of course u all know the result, what a joke.congrats to all the irish boys they did us proud but sorry to say u cant beat corruption aswell as your opponent, well done billy walsh keep up the great work

Posted 11:37 24th August 2008

Dave Brennan says...

Totally agree with Wayne's Column. Having watched many fights during the games I have been consistently bemused by some of the shots that score, and more so by the one's that DON'T. I watched the Kenny Egan fight this morning, and yes I might be slightly biased, but how Kenny lost the fight is beyond me. He had so many clean shots that didn't score and yet the Chinese lad seemed to be getting points for punches I couldn't see. As one TV pundit put it, "He was getting points for shadow boxing". Amateur boxing has to change the scoring system to the one that everyone who looks at a fight knows. I know there have been some horrible decisions in the past with this system but it certainly wasn't any worse than what we have now.

Posted 11:34 24th August 2008

Kevin Sibley says...

Why in this day and age can't the white areas on the gloves be relayed to a computer so that every clean punch and mainly combinations score, that way nothing would be missed.

Posted 11:21 24th August 2008

John Fleet says...

I totally agree with Wayne i was watching one fight at work but can't remember who it was and the guy who lost had clearly won in my eyes and in the pro's he would have because he totally dominated he was landing quality 1-2's and not even get a point for them. I find that totally unfair and during the games it made me wonder if we would have get another brit fairy tale like audley harrison and amir khan. Hopefully Degale can be that fairy tale and turn into a good pro but we could have had others

Posted 11:10 24th August 2008

David Mosley says...

I quite agree, and not only is the scoring system for boxing wrong. Did you see the taekwondo? I've never seen such cheating, and that 's what it is, by the judges. Thankfully that error was overturned. When I watched Degale win his gold if you watch the senior judge who holds up the "tennis bat" to announce the winner, he obviously didn't want us to win. He could hardly be bothered to lift it off the table and he looked as though he was chewing a wasp! Much needs to be done to ensure fairness in boxing and other sports to remove favouritism and downright raceism before 2012.

Posted 10:23 24th August 2008

Rich Hewlett says...

I do agree there has been some shocking scoring at the olympics, but there have been equally shocking decisions in the pro ranks, so at the end of the day, judges are human, and they'll call the fight the way they want.

Posted 10:22 24th August 2008

S Unonymous says...

I am a computer scoring operator (not to be confused with a judge) and share Waynes concern. At a local championship I was testing the computer that I set up (set to score with 5 judges, with 3 having to press in sync for the shot to score), and the results of my test were quite startling. It's not that the judges can't press the buttons quick enough, but that the computer can only process a combination of three scoring shots as one scoring shot. This is because the computer requires a clear second between each press of the button. I don't think the judges really understand this and don't allow for a clear second to pass before actually pressing it a second and third time. Hence, they do press it two or three times, but too quickly!!! Perhaps more interestingly, another thing I noticed is that because of the rules regarding three judges pressing in sync, the person who landed the most scoring hits does not always win. I looked at a bout analysis and all five judges had unanimously scored the most shots for the blue corner. The computer gave the bout to the red corner because the judges had done a better job of scoring the red corners shots in sync. Barmy!!!!

Posted 09:23 24th August 2008

Gavin O'byrne says...

I firmly agree with Wayne here. The non scoring of combinations is rediculous, most people know that alot of boxers bread and butter is combinations ( unless you are Rocky). This one punch boxing is not realistic.

Posted 07:33 24th August 2008

Simon Ryley says...

I think the current computer scoring system is a disgrace; have watched a few of the fights and seen clear shots not being picked up on several occasions. When you consider that some of these young fighters have worked so hard for so long to get to the olympics it really is totally unacceptable to have the bouts come down to luck/favouritism.

Posted 07:27 24th August 2008

Mo Bee says...

I agree with most of what Wayne says, but I do remember a decision against Roy Jones Jnr in the Seoule Olympics which was very very loaded in favour of the 'home boy' who hardly laid a punch on Jones and was schooled throughout the bout but incredibly got the decision. The problem with the modern scoring system is that it's not modern enough, surely they can make a programme that can record multiple hits..may be I should write one and sell it to the IOC.

Posted 00:13 24th August 2008

Philip Yeates says...

I totally agree, maybe some thing like the scoring in the pro ranks would help, but what ever scoring system is decided upon the score must be kept secret from the boxers until after the final bell, also the refs must be better some are so leinient they let the boxers get away with any thing

Posted 23:03 23rd August 2008

Andrew Skeete says...

Yes!!! I agree with all that has been said. After the first few fights I stopped watching because the scoring in most cases did not reflect what was happening in the ring. I agree that the scoring should be scrapped and the traditional method of a panel judging the fight be reintroduced. However, although I am not sure how you will do it, a system will need to be developed that limits favouritism. Maybe the system used in gynastics the highest and the lowest dropped could work. The computer system must be scrapped!!!

Posted 22:40 23rd August 2008

Jason Peterkin says...

Well said Wayne.. I didn't even know how the scoring worked until I read this arcicle but it all makes (twisted) sense now. I too watched the Williams fight and couldn't understand what was happening, have to agree that in a pro fight he'd have won by a mile.

Posted 21:32 23rd August 2008

Paul Stace says...

I agree with Waynes comments. As an x amateur boxer myself i found some of the scoring if not outright crazy but sometimes comical. Wouldnt it be intresting to stage an amateur bout without the judges but insted have cameras positiond at each corner of the ring allowing five judges to watch the fight after on a screen scoring as if they were ringside,then letting five differnt judges score the same fight. Some how i doubt the results would match.

Posted 21:09 23rd August 2008

Dave Moreno says...

Fair comments Wayne.The system is a definite joke when you see a boxer like James Degale winning a gold medal.He just ran in,hit his opponent and ran away.This is surely not what boxing has come down to?Fair play to him and his team as they completely licked the system but I wouldn't like him on my side in a scrap!

Posted 20:34 23rd August 2008

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