Ricky Sismundo Got Massively Screwed

On August 7th Mykal Fox was the victim of a horrendous decision loss against Gabriel Maestre. The decision was so blatantly bad that it sparked universal outrage and some major changes within the governing body that sanctioned the contest.

Luckily for Fox this contest took place for all to see as it was broadcast nationally in the United States on a Saturday night. But not all bad decisions are as widely viewed. Let’s think about it. If Maestre-Fox was not on television most would have just seen the result and not thought a thing about it. Maybe Fox would have complained on social media but would anyone have really paid attention? I doubt it.

Two weeks after this event on a Friday afternoon ESPN+ broadcast a card from Dubai. It certainly did not have much viewership. But I was watching and witnessed an even more blatant robbery than we saw with Fox-Maestre. And to my point above barely a peep has been made mention of it in the boxing community.

Ricky Sismundo is your quintessential journeyman fighter. He was once a fringe contender but fell short whenever he stepped up in class. As a 15 year pro his best days seemed to be far behind him. Now fighting as a welterweight (he campaigned primarily at featherweight and later lightweight) with a record of 35-15-3, he received the call to take on 7-0 prospect Faizan Anwar. 

Anwar is from India and has the backing some big time players in boxing. India is a potentially lucrative market and a fighter such as Anwar could certainly become quite the draw. Of course keeping an undefeated record would help with that marketability as would getting a few somewhat recognizable names, such as Sismundo, on the resume. If Anwar would say be able to stay undefeated as he ever so slightly upped the level of competition then maybe down the road he could draw a big name over to India (or Dubai) for a big event (and payday).

Faizan got a gift

The result seemed to be pre-determined. And figuratively speaking maybe it was.

I am not going to rehash the fight in its entirety but do wish that whoever reads this will go view the contest to judge for themselves (it was available on ESPN+).

In summation, after a slow start to the scheduled eight round fight Sismundo beat Anwar from pillar to post. Sismundo scored a knockdown in the fourth round and could have been given credit for a knockdown in the seventh but the referee ruled Anwar slipped after a punch rocked him. It was, though, a one-sided beating in a contest that appeared to be a grown man fighting a little boy.

Anwar showed guts to make it to the final bell but anyone who saw the fight knew he had just suffered his first defeat. Or so we thought.

The judges’ scorecards took some time, which of course was the first indication that something was up. Then, when the ring announcer announced the verdict he simply proclaimed Anwar the winner. And that was it. No scores were read and they were off to the next fight (there were two more fights left on the show).

Incidentally the other two fights both went to decisions and those scores were read by the ring announcer.

In working on this story I went to BoxRec to fact check the event and do see now that official scores are listed. All three judges scored the fight 76-75 for Anwar according to BoxRec.

I did take to social media following the Anwar-Sismundo verdict but few seemed to pay any attention. My impression was that not many boxing fans watched this card. And unlike Maestre-Fox the verdict here could be brushed under the rug.

In my opinion the Anwar-Sismundo verdict was even worse than what we saw with Maestre-Fox. The scorecards were just as bad (if not even more outrageous) and unfortunately Sismundo did not get the same backing that Fox received for the injustice.

Again, don’t just take my word for it, please view the fight and see for yourself. And after you do please make your opinion known as Sismundo deserves the support of the boxing community for this undeserving loss on his record.