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Another black eye for boxing
Judges for Lewis vs. Holyfield stole more than the spotlight
Her name is Eugenia Williams and she sat in the pink corner at Madison Square Garden and was told to be honest, told to be fair.
In her eyes, maybe she was being all of that. But in the eyes of Lewis and Holyfield, another story was told and for the millions watching throughout the world, she was no different than so many New York criminals: Her pencil was a pistol, and the wallet she walked away with belonged to Lennox Lewis.
It was sad and yet appropriate at the end -- before the scores were read for the heavyweight unification bout -- that Lewis had both his arms in the air. He thought he was celebrating. He didn't realize this was a stickup.
And maybe, just maybe, a setup.
One day later, there is less reason to believe that the bout between Lewis and Holyfield was anything other than one-sided. One fighter punched more and moved more effectively. One fighter controlled the pace of the fight and the style. One fighter was commanding, sometimes overpowering, but always in control.
That fighter was Lennox Lewis.
The other fighter, Evander Holyfield, wore a face of confusion. You could almost read his mind as he tried to get inside, tried to throw left hooks, tried to be physical. You could almost read his mind saying, "I don't know what to do now." Nothing he tried could solve the puzzle of a fighter who was born in England, lives in Brampton and should now be champion of all of the world.
On Eugenia Williams' scorecard Saturday night, she gave seven rounds to Holyfield, five rounds to Lewis. Another judge, Stanley Christodoulou, scored it precisely the same way I had: Seven rounds for Lewis, four for Holyfield, one round even. The third judge, Larry O'Connell, scored five rounds for Lewis, five rounds for Holyfield, two rounds even.
The Associated Press scored it 117-111 for Lewis.
On the judge's scorecards, six of the 12 rounds were in dispute, six were unanimous. But here is where the story gets messy. Here is where the New York Athletic Commission should get involved. It should monitor the lifestyles of these judges in the months to come, monitor their bank accounts and their travel plans: Was this just terrible judging or was somebody party to more than just a boxing crime here?
The punch statistics say much about Holyfield's inability to understand Lewis. In half the rounds, he hit Lewis fewer than 10 times. By anyone's pugilistic standards, that is shocking. "He looked,'' Lewis' trainer, Emanuel, Steward said, "like a sparring partner.''
In Round 4, Holyfield was outpunched by Lewis 23-9. Judge Williams gave the round to Holyfield.
In Round 5, perhaps the best round for Lewis in the fight, a round where he wobbled Holyfield, the punch count was 43-11. Judge O'Connell gave Holyfield the round.
That one single scoring error -- and how could he possibly justify his myopic view? -- altered the final outcome. O'Connell wound up scoring the bout 115-115. Had that round been scored appropriately, Lewis would have won a split decision and today would be as he should be, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
O'Connell then scored the seventh round a draw, while the other two judges saw Lewis the winner. In Round 7, Holyfield attempted some rope-a-dope strategy, wrestled Lewis to the ground, but barely fought back. It was a dull round, but clearly it was Lewis' dull round. Lewis outpunched Holyfield 33-8.
According to the judges' scorecards, Holyfield didn't lose Rounds 8, 9, 10 or 11. In fact, Lewis had to dominate Round 12 just to get any kind of break from the judges. Otherwise, the result would have been worse than a draw. He would have lost.
In the four rounds awarded Holyfield late in the fight, Lewis scored with 115 punches, Holyfield managed just 53. In the 11th round, he connected with Lewis just seven times, winning the round on all three cards.
One judge, not working this night, thought Lewis won nine of 12 rounds. Another judge I know had it 8-4 Lewis. Of more than 50 veteran boxing writers sitting ringside, not one had scored the bout any way other than Lewis winning.
The winner, if there was one, was promoter Don King, who would have lost his connection to the heavyweight division had Holyfield been defeated. King had the most to lose in Holyfield's demise, but instead Lewis lost out, Holyfield knew he hadn't won and the 21,282 at the Garden booed loudly into the early morning.
King talked of a rematch, but a rematch will be only more of the same -- Lewis dominating, Holyfield trying to find a way. This wasn't a great fight, only a great victory for Lennox Lewis, a great victory that turned into a New York-style stickup. Another crime against an already soiled sport.
Steve Simmons' column usually appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. He can be reached via e-mail at ssimmons@sunpub.com