Circes and panem - even the circuses are fixed...

The spirit of the Olympics


Deadspin.com



Go there and watch the video.

The Azerbaijani boxer is knocked down six times. That is six times he was on the floor.

None of these times does the referee of the match do the count (you know, hold his fingers up one, two, three...).

Here's how it is supposed to work; About.com:

When a boxer is down, the referee starts counting from one to 10 seconds. The count now is timed electronically, with a beep sounding for each number, but referees often still choose to call them out. The referee also is required to signal the count to the downed boxer by holding a hand in front of him and counting with his fingers. If the boxer is still down after the 10 seconds, the opponent wins on a knockout.

Even if a boxer gets back on his feet immediately, he is obliged to take a mandatory eight-count. After the eight seconds, the referee will give the command "Box" if he feels the match should continue. If the boxer gets to his feet but falls again without receiving another blow, the referee starts counting at eight.

A boxer who is down and being counted can be saved by the bell only in the final round of the final. In all other rounds and bouts, the count continues after the bell sounds.

If any boxer takes three counts in one round or four counts in the bout, the referee will stop the fight and declare the opposing boxer the winner.

The referee, by not doing the count, implied that there was no knockout... but there were six of them... and in the rules for olympic boxing, if a boxer is down three times, he should automatically lose.

The Azerbaijani was down six times...

Now, even with this egregious error, I figure that a boxer who is knocked down six times by the other guy, I figure with my keen sense of awesomness that that gentleman should lose the match.

You know... the guy who is standing over him should win.

Apparently, the rules of boxing are very complicated indeed, with two sets of rules - one, the official, written set, and the others, pulled out of the judgess asses'.

Of course, there was no corruption involved, oh no, sir!

BBC, dated 22 September 2011:

Allegations of deal to fix 2012 Olympic boxing medals
By Anna Adams and Meirion Jones BBC Newsnight

BBC Newsnight has uncovered evidence of secret payments of millions of dollars from Azerbaijan to international boxing organisation World Series Boxing (WSB).

Whistleblowers say that WSB's chief claimed the money was in return for a guarantee that Azerbaijani fighters would win two boxing gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics.

The boxing organiser at the Olympics, AIBA, admits an Azeri national paid $9m (£5.9m) to one of their competitions.

Lawyers for the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) told the BBC that any such allegation was "preposterous and utterly untrue".

That view was backed by AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, who told Newsnight that the claims were "totally untrue and ludicrous", adding that "WSB is conducted in a totally transparent way".

The insiders said Mr Khodabakhsh told them that a secret deal had been done to secure funding from Azerbaijan in return for manipulation of the Olympic boxing tournament to guarantee gold medals for Azerbaijani fighters.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

I deny that I have offered anyone two gold medals or have any understanding that anybody else has offered two gold medals to Azerbaijan”

Ivan Khodabakhsh Chief Operating Officer of the AIBA's World Series Boxing (WSB)

AIBA and WSB response

One insider told Newsnight: "Ivan boasted to a few of us that there was no need to worry about World Series Boxing having the coin to pay its bills. As long as the Azeris got their medals, WSB would have the cash."

Another said that Mr Khodabakhsh came in and said: "We are safe now - Azerbaijan came in - we have to give them medals for that."

"He was talking about gold medals in London in return for millions of dollars of secret payments," the insider added. "Medals are being sold so blatantly it's amazing."

Switch the article's paragraphs here a bit and we get:

The AIBA is the international governing body for the sport of boxing recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). World Series Boxing, a franchised league of professional boxing, is one of its initiatives.

WSB had run into financial difficulties in America and was in need of funding.

AIBA has previously claimed that the money for WSB America came from a private Swiss company, but documents obtained by Newsnight show communications between Mr Khodabakhsh, AIBA executive director Ho Kim and Azerbaijan's Minister for Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov about an investment agreement for a $10m loan.

These include an e-mail from Mr Khodabakhsh to the ministry in Azerbaijan with the following request: "Please transfer the investment money soonest possible to the WSB America account."

Newsnight interviewed Mr Khodabakhsh earlier this month in Switzerland, where WSB have offices, and asked him about the source of the money.

"The money for WSB America came from an investment company here based in Switzerland," he said.

However, lawyers for AIBA and WSB, have now confirmed that although the money was paid through a Swiss company it actually came from Azerbaijan. But they deny that it was from the government there.

How blatant can corruption in sports be?

Soccer

As some readers have have gathered, I am a huge soccer fan. To the point that the only reason I pay for cable is to have the Fox Soccer Channel. As a matter of fact, while writing this I am watching Real Madrid stomp the totally outclassed Los Angeles Galaxy 4:1 (it's still the 59th minute, I smell more goals) in a friendly match.

It pains me to say this, but soccer has been, is and probably will be as corrupt a sport as boxing.

Mirror, UK, dated 11 Jul 2012 10:52:

Former Southampton captain Claus Lundekvam has claimed he took part in a betting scam “for years” while playing in England.

The Norwegian international, who played for the Saints from 1996 and 2008, said he and fellow professionals organised a lucrative spot-fixing operation.

He explained: “It is not something I am proud of. For a while we did it almost every week.

“We made a fair bit of money. We could make deals with the opposing captain about, for example, betting on the first throw, the first corner, who started with the ball, a yellow card or a penalty.

“There were often thousands of pounds in the pot, from several players. We would give the money to one of the staff to put on for us.”

Lundekvam said the practice never affected the outcome of a game. "The results were never on the agenda," he said. "We were professional competitors. Even though what we did, of course, was illegal, it was just a fun thing."

Lundekvam's former Saints team-mate Matt Le Tissier admitted in 2009 that he was part of a failed Premier League betting scam.

The Southampton legend deliberately tried kick the ball out of play at the start of a 1995 match.

He had bet there would be a throw-in within the first minute. If his plan had worked out he stood to win £10,000.

Le Tiss said the scam was to have taken place at Wimbledon. But it was thwarted when a player who knew nothing of the bet kept the ball in play.

In his autobiography Sky Sports pundit Le Tiss said: “The ball was tapped to me and I hit it towards Neil Shipperley. I tried to hit it just over his head.

“But with so much riding on it I didn’t give it enough welly. Shipperley knew nothing about the bet and managed to head it.”

Le Tiss says that for the next minute he charged around desperately trying to kick the ball out.

He adds that it was no longer a question of winning a bet but of avoiding losing a lot of money.

Eventually the ball went out on 70 seconds and the neutral time meant he’d neither won nor lost.

Le Tiss, who played nearly 450 times for Southampton, added: “Spread betting had just become popular. It allowed punters to back anything from the final score to the first throw-in.

“I’d never have done anything to affect the outcome but I couldn’t see a problem with making a few quid on the time of the first throw-in. I have never tried spread-betting since.”

Here we have two players admitting blatant gambling within the sport...

But, since the English Premiership football is a gigantic bag of money (Just the TV rights are worth 3 billion pounds, and that's not counting the jerseys sales, the boots, the balls, the tickets to the stadia, etc etc etc)...

Sport is the opiate of the masses, perhaps more important in some parts of the world than organized religion.

I should just disconnect my TV and spend that time outside, jogging or... smelling the flowers.