Open Scoring

[shza]

I am against this . In the taylor ouma fight , I just felt real sorry for Ouma every time the scores were anounced. it totally discouraged him. Taylor also slacked at the end of the fight cuz he knew he is way ahead. There is no suspense

I completely agree with you..
I think the idea of it is simply quite thoughtless.. They must know how badly that can discourage a fighter and your right its a real suspense killer.. Is it just hbo doing this or is it showtime or anyone else?
could be a bit of a ratings killer.. Cos i would start getting miffed if this is a permanent fixture in future fights!
Peace

It's not HBO or Showtime doing it--it's the WBA. There are valid points on both sides, but this "don't do it because it can discourage a fighter" thing just seems silly. Should we stop showing the score in basketball games because dwayne wade might get "discouraged" if the heat are losing? If these guys are that mentally fragile, they don't belong in sports.

I found it quite pointed that the one actual boxer they had commentating during this--Lennox Lewis--said that he would definitely want open scoring, so he could know how well he was doing and know he needed to step it up if he was behind in a close fight.

The next person that compares Basketball to Boxing... this is becoming a trend here lately.... but the next person, I'm going to stamp as an idiot.

AND OOFFF COURSSSEEE!!!! Of course Lennix wants it! Did you see how Boooorrrriiinggg and SAFE he was throughout his career? ?!!!!!!!!!!!! Boring and Safe WAS his career. There were some exceptions, but Lennox was perfectly fine going on his backfoot, "running away" so to speak, and sit behind on that jab all night long.

Had he KNOWN the cards, he would sit behind that jab all night long (and hug & hold)! Hardly EVER going for the knockout or mixing up his arsenal.

Alright man. Have you seen boxers run and jump their way a victory? They raise their hands up and run away, kinda like a small-jump with both legs, ... I see it all the time in the last round. Imaging that, AND HUGGING, for 4 OR MORE rounds, because a guy wants to win on points and knows his points. It's no longer Prize fighting, it's boring as hell fighting.

There is a reason why boxing makes so much money, because it's so compelling and dramatic, as compared to many other combat sports (not including the new mma trend). And the reason it's compelling is they FIGHT!!! Fighting brings in the $$$$$$.

You're addressing only the situation of the fighter who finds he is ahead on points, and ignoring the situation of the fighter who finds he is actually losing a fight he though he was winning. The result of that isn't going to be a bunch of holding and running--it's going to be someone seriously stepping it up. I think, for example, the first Hopkins-Taylor fight would have been much less boring if Hopkins knew he had lost all of the first four rounds and actually had his 20-defense streak to worry about. Or let's take someone who is the farthest thing from "boring and safe": don't you think a very close manny pacquiao fight would be even better if pacman finds that he has to either win every single remaining round or get a KO (or at least multiple KDs) in order to win?

As to basketball/football comparisons, you'll note that I used it only in one specific way: to point out the complete silliness of worrying about a fighter's "getting discouraged" by knowing the score. I think it's a completely valid analogy to draw with respect to that point. With respect to others, obviously the analogy doesn't extend too far, because the scoring rules for football, basketball, etc., are so clear that there can be no question of who's winning, even if the score is not announced. You can keep track of how many touchdowns and field goals you've scored and know whether your winning or not; keeping track of how many punches you've landed doesn't necessarily tell you anything.