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IF BOXING IS A DYING SPORT, THE PACQUIAO-BRADLEY JUDGES JUST PRONOUNCED IT! By Rich Mazon PhilBoxing.com Sun, 10 Jun 2012  Las Vegas, NV ? There are bad decisions in this sport and then there is this. The exciting match between WBO Welterweight Champ Manny Pacquiao and his undefeated challenger Timothy Bradley ended in an unsatisfying, unappreciated and unaccepted Split Decision victory for Bradley. The victory was awarded for Bradley despite being dominated by Pacquiao right from the opening bell of this championship match. Bradley was clinging to Pacquiao when he felt the power of Pacquiao?s left as early as the second round of the fight. He wobbled after every cracking left from the champ. He got pushed in the corner by combinations that landed squarely on his head. He bent to avoid Pacquiao?s punches in the middle to late rounds. He was clinging to survive, to salvage a face. Bradley fought valiantly despite getting hit by those head shots. He looked desperate as wild punches emanated from him. He finished the fight on his feet and without tasting the canvass despite those vicious lefts. But that was not what the judges saw at ringside. Judge Duane Ford and CJ Ross saw Bradley win a close fight in their eyes. Judge Jerry Roth had Pacquiao winning a close victory. They did not see what most of the media saw at ringside. They did not see what the crowd here at the MGM saw. They saw a close fight between two warriors that electrified the crowd. They saw differently. Pacquiao lost in Ross and Ford?s cards from round 7 onwards. Roth had Pacquiao winning only two rounds from the same rounds mentioned. Pacquiao basically lost the second half of the fight in their eyes. They have Bradley dominating instead of Pacquiao in their score cards from rounds 7-12. They have him rallying back to eke out a victory in their eyes and cards. The punches don?t lie. Bradley?s head being pressed back after every punch do not lie. His wobbling does not lie. The hurt that he took from those punches showed in his face and eyes. They do not lie. The punch stats do not lie. Pacquiao connected 253 of his punches to Bradley?s 159. Pacquiao connected 34 percent against Bradley?s 19. The now former champ connected more on his jabs, 63 to Bradley?s 51. And the power punches, Pacquiao landed 190 to Bradley?s 108. He landed 39 percent against Bradley?s 28 percent. It showed on the screen, it showed here at the arena, it showed on paper. But the judges saw differently. They saw it their way. And that produced an ecstatic new WBO welterweight champion. It also produced a stunned former champ, a stunned corner of his, a stunned audience and definitely a stunned nation. And sadly there is no way to reverse it and no way to appeal it. It is final. What is not final is the aftermath of this atrocious result. It will be a subject of conversation from the moment that decision was announced and that will last for a long, long time. This decision will go on as one of the sport?s worst and rightfully so. And it will just hurt the sport even more. It will just turn away fans that hoped and expected fair judging in a ring where all is fair. They deserved fair scoring. The fighters who risk their life deserved fair scoring. The sport deserved no less than that. If boxing is said to be a sport in life support, then based on the reactions tonight, the judges of Pacquiao and Bradley just pulled the plug of its life support here in Vegas. You can email the author at rrmaze24@aol.com. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .  |
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