Boxing and MMA fans rejoice! Judge Adalaide Byrd will not have the opportunity to ruin any more important events … at least for the rest of the year. Byrd was the focus of a lot of controversy after her lopsided 118-110 scorecard for the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin fight resulted in the match being declared a draw. The other two judges scored the fight 114-114 and 115-113 for Golovkin.
A source from within the Nevada State Athletic Commission confirmed with the Los Angeles Times that Byrd will not be assigned to any more fights in 2017.
“She’s not being suspended, but she is being benched for a couple of months,” the source said.
Media members ripped into Byrd’s scorecard during the post-fight press conference, forcing NSAC executive director Bob Bennett to admit his judge had ‘a bad night’ and her score was ‘too wide.’ Fans on the internet went further, digging into Byrd’s history of questionable judging in an attempt to prove bias and outright corruption.
State athletic commissions are known for ignoring complaints like this when a judge is seen to have screwed up a score, but it’s been harder for Bennett to give Byrd slack considering Canelo vs. Golovkin was the most important boxing match of the year. It was an excellent battle, one most people believe Golovkin won in close fashion. But because of Byrd’s clearly incorrect score, the fight ended as a draw.
That kind of screw up hurts the legitimacy of boxing and drives away fans. It’s ironic that out of the two major boxing matches of the summer, Canelo vs. Golovkin was the match that made boxing look bad rather than Mayweather vs. McGregor. On the silver lining side of things, a rematch is already being discussed for May 2018. We imagine Golovkin might have some reservations about letting it be held in Nevada, especially if Byrd is back judging fights again by then.
