The Phoniest Split Decision Ever in WBA Boxing

There have been not a few queer decisions in the modern history of professional boxing but none queerer than the world championship bout between Ryota Murata of Japan and the Frenchman Hassan N'Dam at Ariake Coliseum, May 20 night. It was so phony that the WBA's President Gilberto Mendoza, Jr. himself declared in his twitter his intention to advise a rematch.

Ryota Murata, a hard-hitting middleweight who won the gold medal at the London Olympics, met Hassan N'Dam of France in a 12-round of world-championship tournament bout. Early in the fourth round, Murata delivered a piercing right to N'Dam's head for a clean knockdown and in the later rounds controlled the match despite lesser in the total number of punches.

The bout ended in a 2-1 split decision in favor of the Frenchman - the US referee awarded it to Murata and two judges to N'Dam.

The WBA President Gilberto Mendoza, Jr. himself scored 117-110 in favor of Murata and tweeted he "regrets a right decision could not contribute to the match" offering an apology to Ryota Murata, Teiken Promotion, and every boxing fan in Japan. Mendoza Jr. stated his intention to order a rematch.

President Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotion commented:

"It is very rare for the WBA president to admit foul plays of its referee, so I need to verify the facts.

On the possibility of a rematch, Honda added:

"I'll let Murata himself decide on what to do. We haven't even talked about whether or not to continue boxing. So, if he wants to have a rematch arranged, I'll make necessary arrangements."

The legendary featherweight who defended his world title 13 times, Yoko Gushiken had this to say:

"I gasped at the decision. Given that decision, Murata and his aids perhaps couldn't sleep that night."

Who knows, the world of boxing is perhaps going haywire. (Nathan Shiga)