Richard “Popeye The Sailor Man” Rivera faced off this evening Saturday, August 20th , or afternoon, depending on where you are against the Swedish-Gambian Badou Jack in a cruiser weight bout. It was a very close bout that went the distance with Badou Jack landing the harder strikes with swift counter punching, and Rivera with volume shots peppering Jack the whole bout. Ultimately it was Badou Jack who won by split decision, 96-94 on the judges score card. Richard Rivera was visibly dissappointed in the judging after the bout. This is the first loss of his professional career.
There was some confusion in the 8th round when Rivera was visibly tired after the 3 minute mark when the time keepers let the clock go an extra 0:59s, losing track of the round. It seems that it was the 8th round where Badou was able to rack up points in the extra alotted time, doing his best work then.
Could Jack have lost the bout if he had not that extra 0:59s to rack up points on the judges score cards? Would Rivera have won if there was accountability amongst the judges, commission and time keepers?
There has been a problem with judging in boxing and MMA, and the problem is accountability.
