10. NICHOLAS WALTERS DREW 10 JASON SOSA
This shocker happened as recently as December 2015, so judges are still getting it wrong. Former featherweight belt-holder Walters, moving up to super-feather, won just about every round but incredibly not one of the scoring officials had him ahead in Verona, New York state.
9. JOE BROWN W PTS 15 DAVE CHARNLEY (SECOND FIGHT)
If it’s possible for a fighter to be robbed on home turf, this April 1961 bout was it. Brown retained his world lightweight title with a hotly contested decision over Dartford southpaw Charnley that saw referee Tommy Little (sole scoring official) leave ringside protected by a police escort. BN’s reporter admitted, “We felt like leaving the Press seats to join in the booing.”
8. OSCAR ESCANDON W PTS 12 TYSON CAVE
Canada’s Cave used speed and combination punching to (apparently) dominate this December 2014 Interim WBA super-bantam title battle in Temecula, California. Famed trainer Teddy Atlas, commentating for TV, had Cave up 118-110. Yet the judges somehow delivered a split decision for Colombia’s Escandon.
7. PERNELL WHITAKER DREW 12 JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ
Nearly 60,000 fans at San Antonio’s Alaadome in 1993 witnessed a travesty as slippery southpaw Whitaker outboxed aggressive Chavez only to receive just a share of the points. Pernell kept his WBC welter crown, Mexico’s Chavez his unbeaten ledger.
6. SHANE MOSLEY W PTS 12 OSCAR DE LA HOYA (SECOND FIGHT)
Mosley had legitimately outpointed De La Hoya three years earlier at welterweight, but this September 2003 rematch for Oscar’s WBC and WBA Super 154lbs belts caused a storm of controversy. All three judges had Mosley ahead, but BN’s ringside reporter Bob Mee said: “I’ve no idea what they were watching.”
5. JOE LOUIS W PTS 15 JERSEY JOE WALCOTT (FIRST FIGHT)
Unheralded Walcott dropped Louis in the first and again in the fourth, but the heavyweight champion received a split decision with the two ringside judges outvoting the scoring referee. BN called this December 1947 Madison Square Garden affair Louis’ “worst display” and said he was on the slide.
4. ALFREDO ESCALERA W PTS 15 TYRONE EVERETT
Puerto Rico’s Escalera kept hold of his WBC 130lbs belt via split decision at the Philadelphia Spectrum in November 1976, despite local Everett appearing to have outboxed him. Escalera’s manager “Honest” Bill Daly was an associate of Blinky Palermo, right-hand man to Mafia figure Frankie Carbo, who ran the sport in the 1940s and 1950s.
3. PETER WATERMAN W PTS 10 KID GAVILAN (FIRST FIGHT)
This February 1956 shocker at London’s Harringay Arena was so bad that the 10,600 fans booed and cat-called scoring referee Ben Green’s verdict for a good 10 minutes. Points margins were not announced in British rings in those days, but The Ring’s correspondent Johnny Sharpe had it 7-2-1 for former world welter champ Gavilan, who would outpoint Clapham’s Waterman in a return two months later.
2. EVANDER HOLYFIELD DREW 12 LENNOX LEWIS (FIRST FIGHT)
Holyfield retained his unified heavyweight crown at New York’s Madison Square Garden, but this March 1999 outage drew scathing criticism from both the American and British press. One called it “an old-fashioned mugging on Seventh Avenue” and another, “one of the worst decisions in a sport of terrible decisions.”
1. TIM BRADLEY W PTS 12 MANNY PACQUIAO (FIRST FIGHT)
The Filipino whirlwind outworked valiant Bradley for nearly the entire fight yet was announced a split loser at Las Vegas in June 2012. CompuBox, the company that counts punches for the TV coverage, had Bradley outlanded in 10 rounds by Pacquiao, who would clearly win a rematch two years later.
