LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission defended the controversial scoring of a judge that resulted in split draw between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, ESPN reported.
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Bob Bennett said judge Adalaide Byrd had “a bad day.”
"Adalaide, in my estimation, is an outstanding judge,” Bennett told ESPN. “She's done over 115 title fights and/or elimination bouts. She does a great deal of our training. Takes a lot of our judges under her wing. I think being a judge is a very challenging position.
In a closely fought contest in Las Vegas, Byrd scored the fight 118-110 in Alvarez's favor, awarding WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion Golovkin just two rounds.
Bennett conceded that Byrd got the fight wrong — judge Dave Moretti had the fight 115-113 for Golovkin and judge Don Trella scored 114-114 — but played down the significance of the error.
[ >> Alvarez-Golovkin fight ends in controversial draw ]
"Unfortunately, Adalaide was a little wide. I'm not making any excuses. I think she's an outstanding judge, and in any business, sometimes you have a bad day. She saw the fight differently. It happens."
The huge margin of victory Byrd gave to Alvarez caused outrage among boxing fans, according to Bleacher Report.