Boxing scoring has always been subject to controversy and this was once again evident after Adrien Broner won the first round of his comeback without landing a single punch.
Broner faced off with Jovanie Santiago on Saturday and was given the win in the first round by two of three judges.
This was despite the fact that the CompuBox punch stats suggested Broner did not connect with a single punch in the first round.
The first round was very cagey and Broner threw a total of 12 punches while Santiago threw 17. He landed none of the punches while Santiago’s 17 landed three punches.
Based on this stat, online users were utterly confused at how Broner was handed the win in the first round.
.@AdrienBroner gets the victory in his return fight via unanimous decision. #BronerSantiago pic.twitter.com/2aqL9hkpNK
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 21, 2021
At the end of the match, Broner won a unanimous decision by scores of 117-110, 116-111, 115-112.
As far as the overall complexion of the bout is concerned, he was the better fighter as he upped his game in subsequent rounds.
It is also worth noting that CompuBox punch stats are created by humans, who are subject to some errors.
That decision.. pic.twitter.com/a4IXNOngE6
— Kevin Thang (@Skip2MyJays) February 21, 2021
Critics further argued that Santiago should have been accorded a bit more credit for putting up a brave fight despite being underdog and offering much more in the way of punching compared to his rival of the day Broner.
