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It’s safe to say that boxing judge Glenn Feldman will never work an MVP event.
After his latest comments, MVP co-founder Jake Paul will likely never do business with Matchroom Boxing again, except perhaps in a court of law.
The outspoken content creator, boxing manager and cruiserweight hopeful has made damning accusations against Feldman, a Connecticut-based ring official whose recent scorecards Paul has disputed. Feldman had the widest scorecard among the three judges assigned to the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano superfight in April and was the only official to have Anthony Joshua beat Oleksandr Usyk in their unified heavyweight title rematch this August at Saudi Arabia.
“I still think Amanda Serrano won the fight,” Paul told IFL TV’s Umar Ahmed in a recent interview when asked to reflect on the fight. “And then you see how this judge Glenn Feldman, who had the biggest gap between Taylor and Serrano. Pretty much everyone had a tie… a tie or Amanda would win. But there’s this judge, Glenn Feldman, who made such a big gap for Taylor, gave rounds that Amanda clearly won, to Taylor.
“Then this judge, Glenn Feldman, shows up in Saudi Arabia and tags Anthony Joshua to win (against Usyk). Everyone who watched the fight (knows) it’s not a split decision. Usyk had a great victory, he clearly won the fight. Does this judge, Glenn Feldman, give it to Anthony Joshua? It’s like a repeat crime here. This type of shit, I’m going to call it here in boxing because it sucks. Clearly Matchroom Boxing is paying this guy money.”
Feldman (97-93) found seven rounds to score for Taylor over Serrano in their hotly contested affair that remains a top contender for the 2022 Fight of the Year. Taylor prevailed via split decision to defend his undisputed lightweight championship.
The second fight between Joshua and Usyk was considerably easier, or so most thought.
Joshua (24-3, 22KOs) was competitive for nine rounds before Usyk (20-0, 13KOs) dominated the final three rounds to seemingly cement a second straight win and defend his WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight titles. on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Judges Viktor Fesechko (116-112) and Steve Gray (115-113) gave Usyk the win, as did most observers. Feldman (115-113 Joshua) was the official dissent, delivering a card that wasn’t even endorsed by Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s career-long promoter.
That didn’t stop the outspoken Paul (5-0, 4KOs) from alleging corruption between Feldman and Matchroom rather than scoring incompetence.
“It’s a bold statement and an accusation that I don’t take lightly, but it’s blatantly obvious,” Paul said. “They’re not even trying to hide it. You’d think they got a different judge who messed up the Taylor-Serrano score. You’d think they’d get a different judge to bring to Saudi Arabia, especially since he’s from the US.
“Why does he suddenly appear in Saudi Arabia? You’d think they’d get a different judge to try to hide the corruption they’re bringing to this sport, but it’s so blatantly obvious.”
The strong claim is not the first time Paul has gone down this road. He expressed his belief that older brother Logan Paul was the victim of a fight rigged in his November 2019 showdown with YouTube personality KSI, who claimed a six-round split decision victory in Los Angeles.
The older Paul scored a knockdown in the fourth round, albeit during a sequence in which referee Jack Reiss deducted two points for separate fouls. The point deductions were the margin of difference between Paul’s victory and the split decision that eventually ended in favor of KSI.
“Two points lost and it changes the decision of the fight,” young Paul said at the time, with more than two months to go before his professional debut in January 2020. “Logan is the better fighter, more technical. KSI was just coming out and throwing punches. He got lucky…so cookie crumbles and I respect KSI. At the end of the day it is silly, although there is nothing you can do. It’s over and they’ll probably never fight again, so put him in the f—— game.
“I think he [California] the commission should challenge it. If they don’t change that decision, you know, then it’s just bullshit. At the end of the day… I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but all this shit is f——- rigged. You see people drinking and dining with each other. You see people at the Staples Center… who was at the Staples Center last night with KSI? DAZN’s Joe Markowski. This sport is rigged, for sure, 100%. The little time I’ve been here [in boxing]I’ve heard several stories about people paying things and picking fights.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
