Originally Posted by
Spicoli
For all of its spaghetti at the wall ratings, boxrec has a pretty extensive listing of judges and refs from first fight worked to very last. Not sure if it rates them similar to fighters but it's interesting to sort thru events worked..how many times working same fighter, venue etc and see some patterns. I've always found it odd that the same officials can work in different capacities. One card the judge and others some work as a ref maybe. Yet they are cloaked as a judge and with some refs you would swear it was them who we're supposed to focus on. Some refs loooove the camera (looking at you Cole, Cortez and Jack Reiss). I've said it before and yet again...all judges should be introduced ring center exactly as the refs are. Put a face on them. HBO came close with listing judges and 'big' fights worked. You're a professional, if the scrutiny gets to you may be time to do something else.
BoxRec has quite the extensive database. But no ranking system for judges that I could find. Fighters get ranked ad nauseum. If I had a dollar for every p4p list out there... etc, etc. Refs may or may not get ranked... but they're front and center in every barroom discussion about boxing. Yet judges work in relative anonymity. Don't screw up too badly... collect your check... and go home. Kind of an odd setup, given the criticality of their work.
These guys/gals decide anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of fights (depending on whose stats you believe); and yet there is little to no accountability. Fans (and some of the media) bitch and moan at particularly bad scoring cards... then the din predictably dies down in a few days or weeks. Ho-hum. Another day at the office. Any other profession... you get thrown out on your ass if you're consistently incompetent or biased.
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