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Boxing In The Dock...Again!

Did you watch Tyson Fury box Deontay Wilder over the weekend? Fury's shot at completing a remarkable...
TodayFM
TodayFM

9:53 AM - 3 Dec 2018



Boxing In The Dock...Again!

Sport

Boxing In The Dock...Again!

TodayFM
TodayFM

9:53 AM - 3 Dec 2018



Did you watch Tyson Fury box Deontay Wilder over the weekend?

Fury's shot at completing a remarkable return to the top of world boxing saw him survive two knockdowns in a  draw with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles.

Overall it's been a traumatic week for a sport which has yielded so many medals for Ireland at the Olympics.  

Yet Olympic boxing hopefuls have been left in limbo less than two years before the Tokyo 2020 Games after planning for the event was frozen.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced it had put plans on hold for the boxing competition after launching an investigation into the sport’s governing body, the International Boxing Association (Aiba).

The IOC said in a statement it had taken the decision after Aiba had submitted a progress report to the Olympic body about, detailing its current situation regarding governance, financial management and sporting integrity.

We all remember Michael Conlan rightly calling out the judging at the last games following an unbelievable ruling in his bout.

Today it's deemed unsafe for the sport's greatest ambassador Katie Taylor to perform here.

Even at the weekend many found it hard to believe that a winner could not be declared in the Fury v Wilder clash.

Fury says "the world knows who the real WBC champion is" and believes his draw with Deontay Wilder was "a gift decision" for the American.

Promoter Frank Warren said he and the British Boxing Board of Control will write to the WBC demanding a rematch (co-incidentally should generate a few good pay per view $$$$)

"To be honest, I've never seen a worse decision in my life. I don't know what fight they were watching.'' Fury said in the aftermath.

Former world champions including Floyd Mayweather, Lennox Lewis, Tony Bellew and Carl Froch believed Fury won, even though he was was floored in the ninth and final rounds.

Governance in the sport seems to be all over the shop.

Sadly it's got to the stage that even in big money bouts the scoring is open to question, and a huge amount of work is needed to restore the sport's credibility.

The only grain of good that you can mine from the weekend debacle is Tyson Fury's post bout interview in which he offers encouragement to those suffering from mental health issues.

Well said to be fair. 



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