Boxing judge CJ Ross has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the sport following her controversial, inexplicable scoring in the Canelo Alvarez-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight last Saturday in Las Vegas.
Ross scored the fight a draw even though nearly everyone watching the bout felt Mayweather won easily and put on one of his best performances ever. The other two judges had it in favor of Mayweather, but Ross’ 114-114 score resulted in Mayweather winning by majority decision rather than unanimous decision.
Ross was heavily criticized by us and many other outlets for her inexplicable score in that fight and many others.
She notified the Nevada State Athletic Commission via email on Tuesday to say that she was taking an indefinite leave of absence as a judge.
“I will be taking some time off from boxing but will keep in touch,” Ross said in an email to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
“We respect her decision, and appreciate her love of the sport she has served for over 20 years,” NSAC executive director Keith Kizer told Larry Brown Sports regarding Ross’ decision.
The Nevada Athletic Commission is also taking action in response to the embarrassing scoring. Kizer told Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Steve Carp that they will hold a mandatory seminar for all Nevada judges in the coming months. He also says there will be changes to the selection process for judges.
We don’t know if Ross decided on her own to take the leave of absence or if she was pressured to by NSAC, but it’s the right move. Anyone who thought that fight was even is not qualified to judge fights. End of story. Even Canelo thought he lost badly to Floyd. How could Ross not see that?
