Judge From Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin Fight To Avoid Sanction

Judge Adelaide Byrd, one of the three judges who evaluated the middleweight bout between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas on Saturday night, will not receive sanctions of any kind despite her controversial decision, according to Martin Rogers of USA Today Sports.

Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin Fight Judge News

Byrd called the fight in favor of the 5-foot-9, 164-pound Alvarez 118-110, while Don Trella ruled it as a draw and Dave Moretti went for Golovkin, 115-113.

“Unfortunately, Adalaide was a little wide tonight,” said Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “She saw the fight for Canelo and obviously she was wider than the other two. Take a look at her record the last three years like I have and the worst you will find is she is maybe out two rounds.”

In this instance, there were five rounds — the third, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth — where Byrd’s card was the opposite of both the other judges.

Kazakhstani Golovkin (37-0-1) — who holds three middleweight titles — said he felt “terrible” following Byrd’s uneven scorecard in favor of his opponent helped lead to a draw.

“I think she turned in her scorecard before the fight started,” Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez said. “I think she needs to go back to school and learn how to judge a fight.”

Byrd gave the 27-year-old Mexican Alvarez (49-1-2) ten of the 12 rounds, and awarded the 159-pound, 5-foot-10 Golovkin, 35, only the fourth and the seventh.

Despite all this, Bennett said Byrd will be allowed to preside over major fights in Nevada in the future.

“It happens, it happens to every judge,” Bennett added. “We all go back and we debrief, like a sports team or a swat team. That’s the life of a judge, you take the good with the bad.”

“Unfortunately she wasn’t in the ballpark tonight, she saw it differently. She had a bad night.  She will come back swinging and hit the ball out of the park. Do I have full confidence in her? Yes.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, even Alvarez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya said, “What was that? People are scratching their heads. They’re confused.”

LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 16: Canelo Alvarez (R) hits Gennady Golovkin in the sixth round of their WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The boxers fought to a draw and Golovkin retained his titles. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)