NOT one of the 36 boxing officials from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be used in Tokyo 2020 next year.
There were a number of controversial decisions in Brazil, with several judges and referees being sent home as a result.
Boxing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will see judges scores displayed after every roundCredit: Getty – Contributor
Irish star Michael Conlan was robbed of a semi-final place despite appearing to outbox Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin.
While Kazakhstan heavyweight Vassiliy Levit was denied a gold medal as Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko was somehow awarded the win in the final.
Tokyo will see judges picked from a pool of International Boxing Association (AIBA) certified officials who have been reviewed by the IOC to make sure they meet the criteria.
In another shake-up, the International Olympic Committee Boxing Task Force has said that judges scores will be displayed publicly at the end of each round.
This will be put into place in qualifying events for Tokyo as well as in the 2020 Games.
Speaking of the changes, IOC boxing task force Chair Morinari Watanbe said: “The main objective of the IOC Boxing Task Force is to ensure the completion of the mission of delivering events, while putting the boxers first, and with transparent and credible sporting results and fair play.
“It is only fair to the boxers not to change the fundamental competition rules so close to the Olympic qualifiers and the Olympic competition in Tokyo.
“The IOC Boxing Task Force has therefore focused on the full review of the rules enforced by AIBA in the current year of 2019, limiting changes which impact on boxers while increasing transparency by displaying the scoring and in the selection process for referees and judges.”
The Task Force has also spoken of boxing scoring, as they stated they will take into account which fighter is “consistently trying to win through the entire bout”.
A 10-9 round will be given if the three minutes were judged to have been “close”, 10-8 if there was a “clear winner” and 10-7 if there was “total dominance”.
Rounds can still be given 10-9 even if there was a knockdown or standing count if judged to have been close.
Anthony Joshua works up a sweat at at the English Institute of Sport ahead of his big fight against Andy Ruiz Jr
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
