Open Scoring for Boxing?

Is it time for boxing to have open scoring? Football, baseball, basketball, wrestling and nearly every mainstream sport has it. Why not boxing? If there were open scoring you could keep track of who is ahead. You could root for the underdog and become more involved in the fight. Open scoring could attract more boxing fans and help improve the integrity of the sport.  If a boxer knew he was behind on the scorecards it would force him to press the action and make the fight more exciting. With open scoring a fighter couldn’t claim he thought he was winning.  If a fighter knew he was losing he could put it all on the line to turn the tide back in his favor, win the remaining rounds or go for the knockout.

Boxing fans are expected to sit through a whole fight with no clue of what the outcome will be, other than their own opinion. As of late the opinions of boxing fans oftentimes ends up being completely different from the judges scoring the fight. When the fight is over, the cards are tabulated and the decision is announced. The fighters, fans, and trainers have no option but to accept the decision of the judge’s scorecards. The judges are not held accountable and are guaranteed a paycheck regardless of how they scored the bout. Maybe the judges should have to explain why they scored the fight the way they did before they get paid. The judges should be held accountable for their performance just like the referees and boxers are.  Until there is open scoring in boxing everyone will be kept in the dark. The score is a secret and sometimes it’s a nasty secret.