The Five All Time Worst Boxing Decisions

ByDavid Shipman

This article is meant to be contrasted as only opinion, but there is more to it. This writer will explore the tale-of-the-tape, the circumstances and how it went down, who deserved to win, and most importantly, why.

This will only cover modern-era fights, mainly between 1980’s until now, because one can simply not find enough material to sift through and cover. Now, for the moment you have been waiting for…

Number 5:
Jose Luis Castillo vs Floyd Mayweather, Jr. I, 2002. Result: Mayweather, Jr. 116-111, 115-111 and115-111. What should have happened: Mayweather picked up the first three rounds easy on all scorecards, but hurt his hand. Castillo used amazing tactics and bullied Mayweather to the ropes, he began to score at will with his left hook. He even muscled Mayweather, hit him with a barrage of good body shots and began to close the gap.

I had Mayweather losing rounds 4-7 and rounds 8 through 11. This equals out to 115-111 for Castillo. Castillo should be applauded for not giving up his title through selling his “soul” to promoters. This is arguably Mayweather’s first loss. Mayweather would eventually “school” Castillo in the rematch. Although the judges had it 115-113, 116-113 and 116-113, many pundits scored the rematch 117-111 for Mayweather.

Number 4:
Pernell Whitaker vs Oscar De La Hoya, 1997. Result: A commanding five and six-point decision win for De La Hoya despite suffering a knockdown. What should have happened: De La Hoya began to get jabbed and hit from all angles. The pro-De La Hoya crowd never helped Whitaker. Whitaker lacked knockout power and charisma, but was a Hall-of-Fame boxer. Whitaker would eventually score a questionable knockdown in the 9th, but ultimately De La Hoya landed just enough flurries at the end of rounds to sway the judges.

I actually had Whitaker winning eight of the twelve rounds for a 116-112 score. The two would never fight again.
Whitaker slipped in to drug addiction, leaving many to ponder what would have been if he would have fought Felix Trinidad healthy? On that segue….

Number 3:
Oscar De La Hoya vs Felix Trinidad, 1999. Result: Trinidad wins by MD 12, 115-113, 114-114 and 115-113. What should have happened: Correct math by “intelligent” judges. Oscar De La Hoya put on a “boxing show” as he put it for the first seven-plus rounds. De La Hoya was up six rounds to one after seven, then won the eighth with ripping combinations that had Trinidad’s shorts bloody.

De La Hoya would tire in the late rounds and some accused him of “running”. Trinidad didn’t really land anything significant but still managed to win the fight and went onto become a destructive cyborg in higher weight divisions. Saving grace: De La Hoya would be the first to lay out a “plan” to beat Trinidad. Hopkins used the same strategy and thus dominated Trinidad in September, 2001.

Number 2:
Pernell Whitaker vs Jose Luis Ramirez, I, 1988. Result: Ramirez wins by SD, 113-117, 118-113 and 116-115. Some of the most outlandish scores ever reported. Let’s put this into context. These scores mean that there were many “10-10” rounds and the scores were severely front-loaded. What should have happened: A clear-cut UD win for Whitaker.

Whitaker landed superb shots and even was able to humiliate Ramirez. Two of the judges were of Mexican descent. But Whitaker would be handed his first loss and had to wait to exact his revenge on Ramirez in the states. Whitaker did exactly that, winning 10 of the 12 rounds in beating Ramirez during a rematch for the lightweight title.

Number 1:
Whitaker has the dubious decision of appearing on the countdown three times. Pernell Whitaker vs Julio Cesar Chavez, 1993. Result: 115-113 (Whitaker), 115-115, 115-115. Chavez entered the fight at 87-0. He was equivalent to “Mr. Dream” in “Punch Out”, in fact, that was him, right? This is perhaps Whitaker’s most culminating achievement. To outclass Chavez, who was seen on a different stratosphere and he did just that.

I remember I was 10-years-old and watching the fight thinking ‘when was Chavez was going to knock him out’? It was evident by round seven that Whitaker had his number. Whitaker would go into a low crouch and nail Chavez to the body. He again would step inside and fire beautiful combinations that had Chavez off-balance most of the night.

Based on his stature, I only gave Chavez three rounds. In what would have been a classic fight, if not for the horrible decision, I rank this as the worst of the past 25 years of boxing. It should have been 117-111 across the board.

Whitaker has had the dubious distinction of being the only fighter ripped off as many times as he did. He retired with a record of 40-4-1. In reality, it should have been 42-1-1 with the only loss being to Trinidad. The Roy Jones before there was one was wronged by judges and faulty promoters throughout his career.