DOC’S CORNER — Issue #5
Isaac Cruz taunting Lamont Roach out of frustration during their close fight.
DOC’S PROGNOSIS
Stop Calling It A Robbery!
What’s good family — Doc’s back in your inbox!
Let’s talk about the most overused, abused, and misused word in boxing today: “Robbery.”
Every time your favorite fighter loses, suddenly the sport is corrupt.
Judges are blind.
The commission is paid off.
Boxing is “rigged.”
Let’s be real… Most of the time, it’s not a robbery. You’re just mad.
There are a few times when the wrong fighter is deemed victorious, but even a few occurrences are a few too many. Still, the MAJORITY of the times…it was a very close fight that could’ve gone either way, but you’re upset that YOUR FIGHTER didn’t get the nod. Which in turn, will make immature fans look for somebody or something to blame, and it’s usually the sport itself, due to a misDIAGNOSIS.
This is the source of the silly fan’s confusion, which will lead to an overall lack of appreciation for the sport of BOXING. That’s my PROGNOSIS. This is where TREATMENT begins! Doc discusses.
Amanda Serrano - The Ultimate Victim
Erislandy Lara - Mr. Almost Had It
🚨 WHAT A REAL ROBBERY ACTUALLY IS
A real robbery is when:
One fighter clearly wins
Wins the majority of rounds
Lands the cleaner work
Controls the pace
Controls the space
And still… somehow loses a relatively wide decision
That’s corruption. That’s criminal. That’s rare.
O’Shaquie Foster reacting to being robbed before getting vengeance against Robson Conceicao.
But most fans call it a robbery when:
A fight is close
There are MULTIPLE swing rounds
And it could’ve gone either way
That’s not a robbery. That’s boxing.
Katie Taylor sticking it to Amanda Serrano during one of her THREE victories that fans say were robberies, despite going 3-0 against Serrano.
WHY FANS ABUSE THE WORD “ROBBERY”
Let’s break this down into three reasons:
1. Most fans score fights emotionally
They don’t score rounds — they ”feel” moments.
Big punch = automatic round in their head
Crowd noise = fake importance
Flashy combos = “he’s winning”
That’s not scoring. That’s feeling the vibes.
2. Fans only cry when their guy loses
Ever notice how a “robbery” is never called when your favorite fighter gets the benefit of the doubt?
Close fight + your guy wins = “clear victory”
Close fight + your guy loses = “ROBBERY!!”
That’s not objectivity. That’s bias.
3. Betting slips make folks emotional
Let’s stop pretending…
Half of the “ROBBERY” tweets come from people who just lost money.
You weren’t robbed. Your parlay died when your broke behind shouldn’t have been betting in the first place!
Guess what movie this is from in the comments!
🥊 WHAT A CLOSE FIGHT REALLY LOOKS LIKE
Close fights are SUPPOSED to feel uncomfortable. That’s what high-level boxing looks like.
Close fight =
Styles neutralizing each other
Fighters taking turns controlling rounds
Momentum shifts
Swing rounds that can be scored either way
That’s not corruption. That’s elite competition. If every good fight had a “clear winner,”
boxing would be kind of boring.
The first two fights between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev were so close that we NEED a trilogy.
In addition to three draws, Erislandy Lara (WBA middleweight champion, shown on the first page), has three losses, all by close decision:
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez - SD
Paul “The Punisher” Williams - MD
Jarrett “Swift” Hurd - SD
We can say that Lara (the oldest active champion in boxing) was on the unfortunate end of some close decisions, but we CAN’T SAY that Lara was robbed in any of them.
🧠 HOW TO ACTUALLY SCORE A FIGHT (SO YOU STOP EMBARRASSING YOURSELF ONLINE)
Don’t overthink it. Use this simple order:
Clean punching (Who landed cleaner, not harder)
Effective aggression (Not just walking forward — effective pressure)
Defense (Who’s making who miss?)
Ring generalship (Who’s controlling where the fight happens?)
Impactful punching (Who’s punches are influencing the direction of the fight)
If you aren’t looking at those five things, you’re not scoring — you’re pontificating.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ON HOW EXCESSIVE CLAIMS OF “ROBBERY” HARMS THE SPORT!
I did a breakdown on this exact concept on the Doctor Boxing Talk channel —
Watch here: https://youtu.be/qLKbjnh_gMo
Click the picture or copy and paste above link into your browser!
👨🏾⚕️ DOC’S DIAGNOSIS
Not every close fight is a robbery.
Not every loss is corruption.
Not every judge is blind.
Sometimes…
Your guy just didn’t do enough.
You can be mad.
You can disagree.
That’s boxing.
However, stop insulting the sport because your favorite fighter didn’t get the nod.
That word “robbery” used to mean something. Now, it just means:
“I didn’t like the result.”
Do better.
See you next Wednesday — Good Lord willing.
Thanks for being part of the fifth issue.
Real boxing talk.
Real fight IQ.
The Doctor’s In Your Corner.
— Doc 🥊
Doctor Boxing Talk
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