Scoring points between boxers is not like watching a fight at home with friends. Judging a fight takes acute concentration and is more stressful than sitting in a cubicle at work.
Just ask Springfield Township’s Eugene ‘Chip? Acey who has worked as a boxing judge since the 1980’s. Acey’s interest in the sport dates back to his childhood days when his father conveyed an unwavering interest after fighting as an amateur.
‘Boxing’s always been the sport I’m interested in,? said Acey. ‘Boxing is the ultimate individual competition. (There are) two individuals and one will be dominant in some way.
‘Judging is opposite of watching a fight. Your concentration is on the criteria. There’s a lot of pressure and you have to have a thick skin. You better get used to hearing boos,? he added.
Working his way up to what many consider a dream job, Acey acknowledged the process is quite different now then when he became an official. He expressed an interest to the right people, often sitting observantly ringside with judges, until he himself was scoring fights.
‘It’s political. You can get all the training you want, but you have to get assignments (scoring fights)? You had to know the right people and then you had to do good,? said Acey, who has judged both amateur and professional fights.
In recent years, Acey’s work shifted primarily to the professional ranks.
‘I chose to drop amateur because I enjoyed the pro’s so much. They are really completely different sports judged totally different,? said Acey.
According to Acey, judging professional fights is much more subjective, requiring the judge to decide who dominated each round and the fight, with one punch sometimes making the difference. Acey said most professional rounds are scored 10 to 9, with 10 to 8 representing a round where one fighter dominated, often knocking down the opponent. He said 10 to 7 rounds are rare and usually signal a lopsided fight the referee will stop.
Amateur fights on the other hand, call for the judge to score points based on scoring blows.
‘A scoring blow is the front of the fighter’s fist to the front of the (opponent’s) body above the waist. A punch to the back won’t count,? said Acey.
Aware of boxing’s declining stature among other sports in the United States, Acey believes boxing will rebound.
‘In my opinion, the popularity is usually focused around an individual like Muhammad Ali. Everyone in the world knew him and everyone was going to watch? The sport revolves around a colorful person and right now boxing is lacking that. It’ll happen,? said Acey.
In his third decade as a boxing official, Acey said he has witnessed none of the corruption or fixed fights some critics say is rampant in the sport.
‘As long as I’ve been in boxing, I’ve never seen a fixed fight. I’ve seen fighters quit because they were getting beat? I think this idea of a fixed fight is a media tag because (the fight) didn’t go the way they expected,? he quipped. ‘Boxers age. Take Ali. In his prime he was one of the best. He aged, but we expected him to continue to be that (dominate fighter). We put him on the pedestal.?
Over the years Acey, who has only scored fights in Michigan, recalls Thomas Hearns as the fighter that stood out in his mind.
‘Hearns was a magnificent fighter in his weight class? he was a tough guy and a real talented fighter. I really enjoyed that,? said Acey.
The emergence of female fighters and the size of males boxers in the heavyweight divisions are the only real changes Acey sees in boxing since he became a judge.
‘Of late, there’s a lot of women. There are some good women boxers you or I wouldn’t want to fight,? said Acey. ?(Women’s boxing) is absolutely entertaining. I’ve seen some very talented young women fight.?
On average, Acey said he usually works one fight a month, sometimes two, depending on how much boxing is happening. He said he never scores more than two a month and often waits over one month in between fights. His next fight is Nov. 4 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
While virtually retired from the business world, Acey 66, stays busy in between fights reading and working on a project started in his old company. Acey owned a tool business called AceWeb Tool Company which sold parts to automobile companies. While owning AceWeb, Acey patented two projects that served as side projects and tweak his interest in his spare time.
The only ‘Goat Can Crusher? in existence resides in Acey’s house. As Acey explained, the machine came about in the 1980’s after Michigan passed legislation regarding bottle deposit. He said the machine was an adaptation of another machine altered to created crushed cans that could legally be turned in for deposit.
‘By law you need to see the type of drink and the top, to turn (the can) in for deposit,? said Acey.
The can crusher works by taking cans loaded into a short conveyor and crushing them one-by-one in a fashion allowing one to read the company name on the side and the deposit acknowledgment on top.
Acey’s other patent is a natural food for bacteria, called NutraSurge, currently used in the waste management industry to increase efficiency of breaking down waste. Acey hopes one day to get the financial backing and market contacts to sell NutraSurge as a natural ingredient to help organic gardens grow.
?(NutraSurge) feeds bacteria in soil increasing the bacteria population which breaks down the nutrients for plants? it optimizes nature’s process for creating healthy plants,? said Acey, who explained the vital role bacteria play to the food supply for plants.
‘Artificial fertilizers feed plants directly and bypass nature, that only makes the plant big and green,? said Acey.
Acey and his wife Noni have been married for 40 years living in Springfield for 35.
‘There was charm to (Springfield Township) and there still is,? said Noni.
The Acey’s technically moved once during those years, transporting their house further back closer to a small lake on the lot.
‘We didn’t even empty the house when they moved it,? laughed Acey.
The outdoors and abundance of woods serves Acey well as he changes viewpoints about some issues with age and retirement. Acey, who hunted since he could carry a gun, no longer desires to go hunting anymore.
‘As a hunter, an animal becomes a target and a challenge. When you realize they have intelligence you can’t kill’it’s not all instinct with animals. There’s a thought process and intelligence,? said Acey, who is not a vegetarian.
‘If I had to kill to eat, it wouldn’t bother me. Hunting is ‘fun? killing and it’s not necessary. You don’t have to hunt to eat. If you did, there’d be nothing wrong with that. Hunting is sport. You wait for a shot. Once you place value on that life, you can’t kill.?
The Acey’s have a son, Adam who shares three children with his wife Alicia. The three grandchildren are Jacob, 4, and 3-month-old twins Justin and Amanda.