Charisma, Attention and Scoring!

May 3, 2008

By Tom Schreck

Photo: Big Joe Miranda

Oscar De La Hoya has announced that he is getting ready to retire but before he does he wants a few super fights. There is talk about a rematch with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather and recently he hinted at a showdown with welterweight king Miguel Cotto.

Before any of that he happens he is fighting a classic tune-up bout tonight with Steve Forbes.

Forbes is a former world champion and he appeared on Season 2 of "The Contender" series.

This makes him perfect as a tune-up opponent because his championship gives him credibility and his television appearances gives him name recognition. Serious boxing fans will note his age, his recent experience and, perhaps most notably, the fact that his most significant success came at 130 pounds — 20 pounds lighter than Saturday's contracted weight, but these details will not concern most casual fans tuning in to the "Homecoming" event.

Forbes is a heavy underdog with the experts and the betting public. This is probably justified by the facts of the contest but there is something else in the scoring that will go against Forbes that few observers will talk about.

Simply put, the judges are likely to pay closer attention to De La Hoya.

Oscar De La Hoya transcends boxing.

He is a pop star in the true sense of the word. De La Hoya is the "Golden Boy" of boxing in terms of popularity, in ticket sells and pay-per-views buys. De La Hoya is the biggest name in boxing today as both a boxing superstar and as a promoter. Since the formation of Golden Boy Promotions in December 2002, De La Hoya's promotional company has quickly risen to a level that allows him to go toe-to-toe with Don King and his former promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank when signing fighters or staging events. De La Hoya owns a newspaper, Ring magazine, a soccer team and he has even been nominated for an Emmy.

The "Golden Boy" is the center of attention wherever he goes.

I've been in a room with him and he is the focal point. Even people trying to ignore him become obvious in their attempts. Living legend Bernard Hopkins and "Sugar" Shane Mosley might be in the room but people will focus on De La Hoya.

Muhammad Ali and "Sugar" Ray Leonard had that type of charisma.

It doesn't mean that charismatic fighters are better but they are likely to get the benefit of the doubt when judges score. They may get preferential treatment because judges are aware of their reputation but in actuality I think this happens less than people think. I believe it has more to do with perception and how the human mind focuses its attention.

The mind focuses on one fighter and uses Fighter 'A' as a reference point when you concentrate on watching a fight A judge will note if Fighter 'A' is scoring or getting scored upon. It is very difficult for the mind to focus on two boxers simultaneously and keep running track of what's happening to each. Our minds tend to focus on one fighter and what happens to that one fighter.

Fighter 'A' may be your main focal point but judges are trained so that Fighter 'A' will not get any preferential treatment. Even high profile fights with name fighters cause no real problems as long as the action is scored consistently.

I believe charismatic fighters get the nod because they draw more attention. Ali's controversial wins over Jimmy Young and Ken Norton have always brought debate and the belief that there was a conspiracy for Ali to get the decision. I think it is more likely that Ali drew an inordinate amount of attention to himself (something he was expert at) while the unspectacular but workman-like efforts of Norton or Young weren't given full credit.

When Leonard defeated Marvin Hagler, it was Leonard that was the more charismatic fighter of the two. He scored with speed and shine while Marvin grinded it out. Boxing is a sport evaluated on subjective means by human beings and it is naïve to think that the perception of a charismatic fighter isn't a factor.

De La Hoya got the decision over a hard working Felix Sturm. Was the fix in? Of course not but the judges could've been locked on to the "Golden Boy" as their reference point and noticed his work more.

There will be cries that there was too much money waiting for the Mayweather rematch or that the Vegas judges were biased if Forbes gives a good accounting for himself tonight but doesn't get the rounds. I'm guessing none of that will factor in but I do believe the perception of the judges can be a factor, particularly if they aren't aware of it or pretend it isn't a factor.

Pay attention to your point-of-view the next time you analyze the action. I think you will discover that you use one fighter as a focal point.

Think about how your perception might effect how you judge a fight and Judge for Yourself!

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Tom Schreck is a judge with New York State, the WBA and other jurisdictions. His boxing murder mystery "On The Ropes: A Duffy Dombrowski Mystery" and his second novel - “TKO: Round 2” - also featuring Duffy Dombrowski, has just been released. . For more info, vist www.TomSchreck.com or e-mail Tom here.