side of the head and werent proper scoring blows.Virgets also

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Heavyweight Evgeny Tishchenkos gold-medal victory over Vassiliy Levit in a widely criticized decision is likely to be a catalyst for change during the International Boxing Associations next evaluation of its judging.AIBA executive board member Tom Virgets told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while he wouldnt offer a personal opinion on the decision, he expects the sports judging criteria to evolve before the 2020 Olympics.Every fight will be analyzed, some with a stronger eye than others, Virgets said.Tishchenko won heavyweight gold Monday night even though the Russian backed up and appeared to struggle throughout his bout with the smothering Levit, a relentless Kazakh power puncher with a thrilling style.All three judges favored Tishchenko 29-28, drawing gasps and boos from the loudly pro-Levit crowd in Rio. The fans lustily booed the decision and jeered Tishchenko as he accepted his gold medal.While Virgets outlined the reasons why the three randomly selected judges from Ireland, Colombia and Algeria likely scored the bout for Tishchenko under the current scoring criteria, the veteran boxing coach and executive also made it clear AIBA had taken note of the worldwide reaction to the result.Were not through with our changes, Virgets said. Were going to continuously improve the sport of boxing, and over the next four years, I think you will see things that are going to make it clearer for everyone to understand what our criteria is, and to be able to more clearly define the boxer who wins.Virgets interview with the AP was AIBAs only public comment Tuesday on the decision, which outraged boxing figures and vocal fans on social media. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power even agreed to pay bettors as if Levit had won.In examining Tishchenkos victory through the lens of AIBAs four main judging criteria, Virgets described why the judges likely arrived at a decision that didnt reward Levits superior aggression and power.Obviously, our judges, they were pretty consistent in the scoring, he said. They obviously followed this. Now is that the best way? Well evaluate and get better.Virgets felt Tishchenko threw more scoring blows to the proper target areas and did more quality punching on the inside, which he claimed is easier to see when watching from the judges seats at ringside. He claimed many of Levits big, exciting punches didnt count because they landed across the side of the head and werent proper scoring blows.Virgets also said Levit initiated the majority of the infringement of the rules during the bout, including holding and head contact. Levit repeatedly got inside on Tishchenko, smothering the towering Russian before he could even throw a punch.So those combined, obviously in the judges mind, it was more important than the physical dominance that (Levit) was showing through infringement woes and lack of quality blows, Virgets said.But Virgets also said Levit clearly trounced Tishchenko in the judging criteria of competitiveness, the most visible area to fans.No doubt about it, the Kazakh boxer showed he wanted to win more than the Russian boxer, Virgets said.The heavyweight result was even more dismaying to fans because AIBA has made significant changes over the past Olympic cycle to make its sport more exciting. The governing body removed headgear from the male boxers and moved from a punch-counting scoring system to a professional-style, 10-point system. Both changes have been well received in Rio.The first nine days of the Olympics had been remarkably quiet for AIBA, which never holds a major tournament without a number of outraged losing fighters claiming they were robbed of a clear victory in their three-round bouts.But Tishchenkos victory was the biggest in a string of potentially infuriating decisions as the tournament hits bigger fights this week.Irish bantamweight world champion Michael Conlan ripped off his vest and made obscene gestures at the ringside judges after his loss to Russias Vladimir Nikitin on Tuesday. He later denounced AIBA as corrupt and claimed judges had been paid off by Russia, which had several fighters eliminated in close decisions earlier in the tournament.U.S. light welterweight Gary Antuanne Russells decision loss to Uzbekistans Fazliddin Gaibnazarov was also booed by the Rio crowd, but none of the reactions compared to the outrage after Tishchenkos awkward, defensive victory over the ferocious Levit.(After) 213 bouts, everyone felt pretty good about everything, Virgets said. This was one of those bouts that just by the nature of the physicality of the Kazakh boxer, it made it more difficult for a decision to be made. And we have to figure out, how much weight do you put to one criteria over another?---Follow Greg Beacham on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gregbeacham Swell Drink Bottles Liberty . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Swell Bottle Elements Collection ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. http://www.swellbottlesclearance.com/swell-bottles-liberty.html . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Swell Water Bottle Sale . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Swell Bottles Wholesale . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy expects former charge Greg Inglis will spark a sputtering South Sydney in Saturday nights NRL clash at AAMI Park.The Rabbitohs are reeling from an eighth straight loss, having been belted 54-4 by Canberra in round 21.Inglis, who hasnt played for Souths since July 3, will return at five-eighth.The versatile superstar copped a three-game ban for a shoulder charge in State of Origin III that broke Josh Dugans jaw.Losing GI for a month obviously wasnt great for them, Bellamy said on Friday.Hes going to be a handful.It doesnt matter what position he plays. If he gets plenty of the ball and starts running it, then hes dangerous.Inglis shot to fame as a game-breaking back under Bellamy, playing 117 games with the Storm before shifting north.Playing down here against his old team, I imagine hell be very determined to play well, Bellamy said.You always know what hes capable of and I know hell be determined to show that this week.Souths coach Michael Maguire admitted the recent slump had tested everyone at his club.Weve got the drive of where we want to go and weve got to make sure we persist with that, Maguire said.Theyree doing all the little things right around training .dddddddddddd.. what were trying to do this week is get out there and play for each other.The Rabbitohs will miss the finals for the first time under Maguire, leaving Bellamy and many others puzzled.Its been a tough time for them ... Im not quite sure, Bellamy said when asked about Souths decline.They won a premiership under two years ago and theyve got a lot of players from that premiership-winning team still playing.With the quality in that side, theyll be very keen to hit back from last week.In sharp contrast, the Storm are second on the ladder and cruising towards the finals.Theyve got a lot of quality across the park so itll be a great challenge, Maguire said.They are defending very well and scrambling well and thats why they sit where they do on the ladder.STATS THAT MATTER:* Melbourne concede a league-best average of 11.6 points per game* The Storm miss a league-best average of 18.6 tackles a game* Melbourne lead the league for linebreaks with 5.8 per game ' ' '