Boxing
ESPN staff 7y

Adalaide Byrd stood down as judge after GGG-Canelo controversy

Boxing

The judge at the centre of the Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez controversy has been temporarily stood down.

Adalaide Byrd produced a scorecard of 118-110 in favour of Mexican challenger Alvarez -- evoking stern criticism from many quarters and prompting ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas to brand some boxing officials "corrupt."

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

There was even derision from Alvarez's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, who added: "A lot of people are not understanding 118-110, just like myself. That's the bottom line."

Bob Bennett, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, was forced to field questions over Byrd's future in the aftermath and said: "I'm not going to put her right back in. She'll still be in the business, but she needs to catch her breath."

The result in Las Vegas brought about comparisons to a situation in 2013 when judge C.J. Ross retired after receiving barrages of criticism for her assessments of Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley and Floyd Mayweather vs. Alvarez.

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