NSAC Exec Defends Judge Adalaide Byrd After Canelo vs. GGG Scoring

Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, has defended judge Adalaide Byrd's controversial scoring of Gennady Golovkin's split draw with Saul Alvarez on Saturday, chalking it up to a "bad day."

In a closely fought contest in Las Vegas, Byrd scored the fight 118-110 in Alavrez's favour, awarding WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion Golovkin—who arguably edged the bout—just two rounds.

Judge Dave Moretti had the fight 115-113 for GGG, and judge Don Trella scored it 114-114. Bennett admitted Byrd got it wrong, but he played down the significance of the error, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:

"Adalaide, in my estimation, is an outstanding judge. She's done over 115 title fights and/or elimination bouts. She does a great deal of our training. Takes a lot of our judges under her wing. I think being a judge is a very challenging position.

"Unfortunately, Adalaide was a little wide. I'm not making any excuses. I think she's an outstanding judge, and in any business, sometimes you have a bad day. She saw the fight differently. It happens."

Bennett was more generous than most in the wake of the bout.

The Telegraph's Gareth A Davies called for an NSAC investigation:

Meanwhile, Bad Left Hook called for Byrd never to judge a fight again:

The outcome of the fight was not hugely controversial. There were plenty, including former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who called it for Golovkin, but many others felt there was nothing to choose between the 35-year-old Kazakh and Mexico's Canelo, per Yahoo Sports' Chris Mannix:

The huge margin of victory that Byrd issued for Alvarez is what has caused the outrage after a tight and absorbing fight.