Filipino boxing analyst lambasts close scorecards in Jonas Sultan's win: 'There was hocus pocus'

Veteran boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino criticized the judges' final scorecards in the recently concluded showdown between Jonas Sultan and Puerto Rican prospect Carlos Caraballo.

Sultan, 29, scored four knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision nod at the MSG Theatre last Sunday in New York, USA. For Tolentino, the Filipino boxer looked like he was ahead most of the fight, but the bout was ultimately scored a close 94-93 across the board after ten rounds of action.

“There was hocus pocus, I think. There was an attempt to preserve the unbeaten record of Caraballo, but the circumstances did not coordinate because Sultan scored knockdowns. Would you believe that before he scored the last knockdown in round 9, Caraballo was ahead on one of the judges' scorecards?” Tolentino stressed.

Sultan, who now holds a record of 18-5 with 11 knockouts, scored one of his four knockdowns in round three. He slipped before the round ended, which was scored as a knockdown in favor of Caraballo.

“How did that happen? They both went down in round three, Sultan slipped, but he was counted by the referee. Even the referee was very protective of Caraballo because he ruled that early that it was a knockdown.”

“When fighters score one knockdown each, there will be in offsetting because it is a ten-point must system, so that should have been 10-9 for Sultan,” said Tolentino.

“Since Caraballo scored a knockdown too, then it would be like no knockdown happened. Sultan was more dominant, and yet one judge still gave the round to Caraballo.”

The Filipino analyst believes Sultan dodged a bullet in New York. And if it was not for the fourth knockdown that Sultan had in round 9, Tolentino says that the Pinoy pug may have been a victim of yet another boxing controversy.

“Almost all of the rounds without a knockdown they gave to Caraballo,” he noted.

“Imagine that, Sultan had to score a fourth knockdown to earn a unanimous decision, or else that fight could have easily been a draw or maybe Caraballo won if not for the last knockdown.”