Boxing
The List: The 10 Worst Decisions in Boxing History
10. Paul Williams def. Erislandy Lara
July 9, 2011
Boardwalk Hall; Atlantic City, New Jersey
Light middleweight Paul Williams took on former amateur standout Lara just last year in a particularly egregious example of poor judging. The match saw Williams take a beating. Though he was putting in the work rate, throwing about twice as much punches as Lara, and more than half when it comes to power punches, he just wasn’t connecting as his Cuban counterpart outlanded him despite the difference in punches thrown.
Lara was surprisingly accurate, and landed most of the significant damage in the fight. Several experts chimed in, saying that even Williams knew that he lost the fight. The officials, though, an inexperienced crew with few big fights on their resumes, gave Williams a majority decision; scoring 116-114, 115-114 and 114-114 on the scorecards.
The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board conducted a review on the controversial result, and found no evidence of corruption or bias on the part of the officials. They did, however, put all three on indefinite suspension and required them to undergo additional training before handling judging duties again.
On a sad note, Williams was recently involved in a motorcycle accident that has left him paralyzed from the waist down and unlikely to walk again.
