“In Houston, TX on the night of August 23, 2009 an unwarranted crime of theft took place…”
A well respected, though in some circles not particularly well liked, competitor was robbed in full-view of an audience of biased spectators. Evidence was collected, information recorded; the powers-that-be at HBO took statements, & additional interviews were conducted by supporting agencies… several credible and qualified witnesses, who watched from the forefront of the crime scene, were willing to testify. The victim, though only slightly bruised, was not at odds with the man whom he had shed blood with in a very strategic & entertaining confrontation. But instead, he blamed the arbitrators who by all accounts permitted the violence to continue in full acknowledgement that each had already come to judgmental consensuses. Premature of the match’s end, they sat alongside & watched, in full recognition that what they were doing would be considered breaking the “law”… apparently, it didn’t matter! The judges’ detest for the victim’s flamboyance & loose lips were enough for them to set aside their professional integrity to appease the home constituency. Once everyone recognized what had happened, it was too late… & as the victim finally broke his silence was given an opportunity to speak, he simply said:
“Boxing is full of S#!t!!!!” (video attached, due to language discretion is advised)
And it just might be, full of s#!t that is, because anyone with eyes and a novice understanding of the sport could have scored this fight: 7 rounds to 5 in favor of Paulie Malignaggi over Juan Diaz. Harold Letterman of HBO Boxing released his unofficial scorecard as such, and even the fans in the arena seemed shocked when Michael Buffer announced Diaz as a unanimous winner on all 3 judges’ scorecards! There was a time in the sport where the guy who got beat up the most was the loser. And as technical as the sport has evolved to be come, judging it can still be just that simple! According to HBO’s “Compubox” punch accounting system, Malignaggi thru more punches and landed more… simple enough. And as I watched Paulie impose his tactical “magic” over Diaz in the 9th, 10th, & 11throunds, I stood to my feet, as a fan, and yelled aloud: “There’s no way they can take it from you! Unless Diaz knocks you out, there’s NO WAY Houston can take it!!!”
But of course, as stated in the affidavit, I was wrong. They did take it from him… a game that in its beauty is a gentleman
’s competition of who’s got the biggest heart (and the hardest skull), the “W” was stripped from his record by the swoop of an ink pen rather than Diaz’s soft left-hook. The court of public opinion should demand a rematch in Madison Square Garden, designating 2,000 lower-level tickets for Brooklyn natives so they can give Diaz a taste of what Malignaggi faced in Houston. And no, this isn’t an indictment on Juan, because he was simply the recipient of the stolen victory, and not the mastermind. But to receive stolen goods is still grounds for an arrest in this country. To accept a 10-2 scorecard from a judge, when clearly neither fighter dominated the match to that degree, is as criminal as scoring it as such. To not publicly condemn that judges score is the equivalent of accepting illegal tender. These things alone are grounds for a mistrial… or at least a December rematch in the Garden…
“On that note Your Honor, the Prosecution rests!”
T.J. Breeden
www.iblmedia.com
iblmediagroup.wordpress.com
