Last night's fight was a total scandal with an ingenious, blindside decision that crowned Fernando Martinez the new unified IBF-WBA super-flyweight champion. Scorecards of 120-108, 117-111, 116-112 make you wonder if the judges were even watching the same fight or just scribbling random numbers while taking a nap.
Right from the start of the bout, Martinez pulled out all the stops and landed some serious punches. But don't get too carried away. This was no one-man show. Ioka fought back with precision, aiming for the body like he was drilling for oil, but most of his attacks seemed to go unnoticed by the judges, who had poor eyesight.
As the 12th round approached, both men looked like they had been at war, trading blows that should have been balanced. But according to our blind judge, Martinez was in command. A convincing victory? A nice illusion, actually. I called the fight a draw.
A big round of applause to the judges who probably left their guide dogs at home – next time, give them a fair score or let the dogs do the judging – they'll at least be able to sniff out the results more accurately.
Blind justice in boxing: Should referees be subjected to harsh criticism after outrageous scoring?
The Martinez vs. Ioka fight just took place in Tokyo and had the boxing world in stitches, and for good reason. Fernando Martinez won the unified IBF-WBA super-flyweight title in a contest that was so questionable that the scorecards read 120-108, 117-111, 116-112, leaving one to wonder if the judges were even paying attention to the fight or just falling asleep and throwing up random numbers.
If you were looking for a sign that boxing might need reform, or even a criminal investigation into its scoring methods, this could be it.
All results:
- Fernando Martinez defeated Kazuto Ioka by unanimous decision (120-108, 117-111, 116-112) to win the IBF/WBA super-flyweight world title.
- In the super bantamweight bout, Tsutsumi Seiya defeated Weerawat Noorae by technical knockout in the fourth round.
- Sekine Shun defeated Chaiyarat Sawansoda by technical knockout in the third round in a super lightweight bout.
- In the lightweight bout, Yudai Murakami won by unanimous decision over eight rounds against Koichi Ichimichi.
- In the super bantamweight bout, Taiga Kato defeated Shi Dong via unanimous decision after six rounds.
- In the super flyweight bout, Juri Kantaro defeated Fai Farob by unanimous decision after eight rounds.
- In the bantamweight bout, Aoi Yokoyama defeated Hao Wang by technical knockout in the second round.
Last updated: 2024/07/07
