Death of a judge...
Posted: 09 Jan 2007, 15:58
A name familiar to some of you, Joachim Jacobsen, has died of a heart attack on holiday in Thailand.
He was just 55.
Jacobsen was a leading German referee and judge who earned a notorious reputation in recent years. He officiated, in one capacity or another, fights involving all the big European names: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, Joe Calzaghe and Graciano Rocchigiani among them. He was last seen rescuing the comebacking Axel Schulz against American Brian Minto in Germany in November.
But it was his scoring in the WBO light-heavyweight title fight between long-reigning Dariusz Michalczewski and Mexican-American Julio Cesar Gonzalez in Hamburg in 2003 that really brought Jacobsen to the public eye. Michalczewski, a Pole based in Germany, had held the title nine years and made 23 defences. At 48-0, he was one fight away from equalling the record of the great Rocky Marciano.
But Gonzalez refused to be daunted and worked hard throughout. His body punches took their toll on the slow-starting champion, who was unable to mount his usual late-round surge in front of an increasingly subdued 15,000 crowd. Michalczewski's promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl could be heard shouting: "You have to do more!" Trainer Fritz Szunek asked Dariusz at the end of round 10: "Are you OK?" There was no reply.
Gonzalez got it by two scores of 116-112. Jacobsen scored 115-113...to Michalczewski.
He also raised eyebrows with his scoring in the Johnny Nelson-Vincenzo Cantatore WBO cruiserweight title fight in Rome in November 2005. The 38-year-old Nelson controlled the first eight rounds and survived a dubious ninth-round knockdown, and a bad 11th, to finish on top. American judges scored 116-111 and 115-112 for the Sheffield man.
Jacobsen had Cantatore ahead 115-112.
It should be said, Jacobsen had Argentine tough guy Hugo Garay ahead in his WBO title rematch with Zsolt Erdei in Hamburg in 2005 (Garay dropped a second controversial nod).
He is survived by a wife and two sons.
He was just 55.
Jacobsen was a leading German referee and judge who earned a notorious reputation in recent years. He officiated, in one capacity or another, fights involving all the big European names: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, Joe Calzaghe and Graciano Rocchigiani among them. He was last seen rescuing the comebacking Axel Schulz against American Brian Minto in Germany in November.
But it was his scoring in the WBO light-heavyweight title fight between long-reigning Dariusz Michalczewski and Mexican-American Julio Cesar Gonzalez in Hamburg in 2003 that really brought Jacobsen to the public eye. Michalczewski, a Pole based in Germany, had held the title nine years and made 23 defences. At 48-0, he was one fight away from equalling the record of the great Rocky Marciano.
But Gonzalez refused to be daunted and worked hard throughout. His body punches took their toll on the slow-starting champion, who was unable to mount his usual late-round surge in front of an increasingly subdued 15,000 crowd. Michalczewski's promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl could be heard shouting: "You have to do more!" Trainer Fritz Szunek asked Dariusz at the end of round 10: "Are you OK?" There was no reply.
Gonzalez got it by two scores of 116-112. Jacobsen scored 115-113...to Michalczewski.
He also raised eyebrows with his scoring in the Johnny Nelson-Vincenzo Cantatore WBO cruiserweight title fight in Rome in November 2005. The 38-year-old Nelson controlled the first eight rounds and survived a dubious ninth-round knockdown, and a bad 11th, to finish on top. American judges scored 116-111 and 115-112 for the Sheffield man.
Jacobsen had Cantatore ahead 115-112.
It should be said, Jacobsen had Argentine tough guy Hugo Garay ahead in his WBO title rematch with Zsolt Erdei in Hamburg in 2005 (Garay dropped a second controversial nod).
He is survived by a wife and two sons.