BOXING fans slammed Carlos Adames‘ contentious split decision draw with Hamzah Sheeraz as “rigged”.
Most felt WBC middleweight champion Adames had done more than enough to win but the judges couldn’t separate the two fighters.
GettyFans slammed Carlos Adames’ contentious draw with Hamzah Sheeraz as ‘rigged’[/caption]
GettyMost felt WBC middleweight champion Adames had done more than enough to win[/caption]
GettyBut the judges called it a split decision draw[/caption]
One judge had it 118-110 for Adames, another scored it 115-114 for Sheeraz, while a third had it even at 114-114.
The huge scorecard discrepancy left TNT commentator Richie Woodhall was left utterly dumbfounded.
After seeing the 118-110 scorecard, Woodhall said over comms: “I don’t know what fight that fella’s watching.”
The result – which Adames’ took well – received an angry response from fans who flooded to social media to protest the decision.
One wrote: “OMG I’m sorry but Sheeraz got wasted here that’s a robbery can’t be a draw for s***.”
A second said: “WOW. Adames clearly won that fight. That looked rigged.”
A third added: “Robbery! Adames definitely won.”
Another tweeted: “F*** right off!!!! No way a split draw. Sheeraz lost by about six rounds.”
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Meanwhile, somebody else posted: “Adames has been robbed.”
But promoter Frank Warren revealed after that Sheeraz had in fact broken his hand during the fight.
Adames retained his WBC middleweight title and challenger Sheeraz was frustratingly cautious – despite some serious orders getting sent his way by the sport’s most powerful man, Turki Al-Sheikh.
The 21-0 Ilford middleweight earned a crack at the WBC world champion – and a chance to become Britain’s newest breakout boxing star.
The proud Pakistani-Londoner had the Riyadh crowd right – and kingmaker Turki Al-Sheikh – in his corner as he was cheered into the ring and the Dominican was booed by all but one small corner of the arena.
Adames, 30, bobbed and weaved into range, under Sheeraz’s freakishly long levers and jabs, but could not connect with anything thudding.
Our 25-year-old undefeated ace was on the backfoot for all of the opener but he was happy scoring from there and landed the most jabs by a distance.
Little Adames grew in confidence and stature in the second but Sheeraz remained disciplined and picked him off from the safety of a 4in height advantage.
The third round was the dullest of the evening, so far, as Adames stalked and stalked and Sheeraz just warned him off with prodded jabs.
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GettyAdames retained his WBC middleweight title via a controversial draw[/caption]
GettySheeraz’s performance was quite flat by his standards[/caption]
GettyBut Sheeraz turned it on and enjoyed his best stanza in the 11th[/caption]
Sheeraz came alive at the start of the fourth, bedding his knobbly knees and whipping a left hook into Adames’ ribs and then rifling down a right hand.
And then he played matador as the bullish champion shadowed him around the ring looking for power punches.
It looked like Sheeraz was going to gift Adames the fifth by being too cautious on the outskirts of the ring.
But just before the bell he unloaded a few piercing shots that angered the champ enough that he battered his chest after the bell and demanded more of a fight from the challenge in the sixth.
Sheeraz obliged and tried to be offensive but Adames was used to punches raining down at him and dipped and slipped past most of the efforts with impressive composure.
Round seven was an exhibition of elite shadow boxing, as Adames dodged every one of Sheeraz’s meaningful digs and the Brit caught all of Adames’ looped efforts on his golden gloves.
Adames landed a peach of a right hand in the third, that smacked the sweat off of Sheeraz’s brow.
But before he could get carried away, Sheeraz pinged him back with an identical shot that sent snot skywards.
By the ninth round Sheeraz had still not worked out Adames’ masterful lateral movement, sometimes he would sink and slide below the Brit beanpole’s waist.
But he went too low with one punch and got a warning from Panama ref Hector Afu.
Sheeraz’s performance was so flat that, before the tenth round, Al-Sheikh walked around the VIP seats and into Sheeraz’s corner to tell him he had two desperate rounds to pull something from the fire.
It’s amazing what a director order from the richest and most powerful dictator in boxing can do, as Sheeraz turned it on and enjoyed his best stanza in the 11th, with three big shots harming Adames.
And Sheeraz landed the cleaner shots in the last shift too but, despite the urges of the crowd, refused to put his foot on the gas and coasted to the final bell.
And the result felt a fair reflection of a promising fight that never caught light.
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