Here is an unexpected perk of the Top Rank and ESPN partnership. The top American sports network will be broadcasting the rematch of Ryota Murata’s controversial loss to Hassan N’Dam live from Japan in the morning hours of October 22nd. Top Rank is Murata’s co-promoter with top Japanese firm Teiken Promotions.
There is no need to mince words here. In one of the worst judging decisions of 2017, Ryota Murata (12-1, 9 KOs) was flat out robbed in May against Cameroonian Hassan N’Dam (36-2, 21 KOs). Despite the official scores, there is no argument that N’Dam could have possibly won enough rounds to take a decision.
Not only was this one of the worst decisions of the year, but in my view it was also one of the strangest of all time. Boxing robberies have consistently followed the same pattern over the years. If there is a hometown money fighter involved, there is the threat that he will get a decision that he does not deserve. Whether it is corruption or judges getting swept up in the roar of the crowd for their favorite’s every little move, it happens again and again.
Ryota Murata, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist fighting at home in Japan, was the hometown money fighter here. I have no idea how this happened.
7:00 AM Eastern is the target time for this broadcast. It will air on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.com, presumably being archived on the latter for more convenient viewing. There are two title fights on this fight’s undercard, but unfortunately it does not seem that we will get them. This fight itself is for a secondary WBA belt.
