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THE PACQUIAO-BRADLEY DISPUTE (PART III) By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Wed, 02 Apr 2014  Before their first fight, Timothy Bradley promised to shock the world, and he did by winning over Manny Pacquiao. But the shock rocked the boxing world when the judges' split decision was announced. The fight showed Pacquiao having the upper hand and appeared to win the fight unanimously. But two judges decided in the contrary, causing Pacquiao to lose his WBO world welterweight title and halted his phenomenal seven-year unbeaten streak. In Round 1, after Referee Robert Byrd completed his final instructions, the bell signaled the start and both fighters met at the center of the ring. Bradley throws the first punch and connected after a few misses. Pacquiao landed a pair of punches but Bradley connected more blows. Pacquiao caught Bradley with two punches at the closing seconds of the round. The predominantly pro-Pacquiao crowd chanted "Manny, Manny, Manny ..." Bradley showed his aggressiveness in the second round, but Pacquiao landed a couple of shots. Bradley landed some punches at the middle of the ring and pinned Pacquiao against the ropes and connected some blows. Pacquiao retaliated with a flurry and looked to have the advantage on points. According to trainer Joel Diaz, Bradley hurt his ankle during this round. In the third canto, Pacquiao landed the more telling punches and took control in the fast-paced fight. He dominated Bradley with more punches thrown and hit. But the challenger refused to crumble and retaliated with some good combinations. During the fourth and fifth rounds, Bradley appeared to be hurting. In the fourth, the referee warned Bradley for a low blow, and clinching twice. Pacquiao was more aggressive especially in the closing seconds of the fifth. Pacquiao dominated the sixth round, trapping Bradley in the corner, and getting off several consecutive unanswered punches. Pacquiao won this round on all three scorecards. Pacquiao started to struggle in the seventh round, as Bradley counterpunched effectively. Bradley won the seventh round, according to the scores of all three judges, with Pacquiao being backed into the ropes near the end of the round. In the eighth round Bradley was hit in the eye by Pacquiao's thumb which prompted the referee to stop the fight. The American seemed to be in trouble, but was careful enough to avoid further counterattacks by Pacquiao. But two judges scored the round in favor of Bradley. In the ninth round, Pacquiao pinned him into the ropes with a couple of punches. Bradley's defense was too loose for Pacquiao's counterpunches, and Pacquiao won two of the three judges' cards. Bradley however won the tenth round on all cards, with Bradley's hits to Pacquiao's head and more aggressive blows. During the eleventh round, Bradley landed a series of punches, Pacquiao nailing against the ropes. The crowd began to cheer the challenger chanting Bradley's name. Pacquiao hit back with a series of punches, but two judges gave the round to Bradley. In the twelfth and final round, Bradley connected a solid blow to Pacquiao's jaw and through the end of the match both boxers survived a wild exchange of punches. Bradley won the final round on all three scorecards.Judges Duane Ford and C. J. Ross scored the fight 115?113 in favor of Bradley, while Jerry Roth scored the fight 115?113 in favor of Pacquiao. It was the most controversial decision in a world championship fight in years. Bradley received a US$5 million, the largest purse of his career in a fight that drew 700,000 PPV buys. "I'm going to make a lot of money on the rematch, but this was outrageous," fumed promoter Bob Arum, as quoted by Associated Press. "Can you believe that? Unbelievable," Arum said. "I went over to Bradley before the decision and he said, 'I tried hard but I couldn't beat the guy.'" "I got my second wind in the sixth round," Bradley said after the fight. "I worked the angles, sticking and moving." "I did my best," Pacquiao said. "I guess my best wasn't good enough. He never hurt me with his punches, most of them landed on my arms," Pacquiao added. Pacquiao has a rematch clause in his contract, and the date was already determined to be November 10, 2012 in the event of a rematch. Bradley even had a large bogus ticket and mock poster printed supposedly for a rematch to show his confidence in winning the fight. The rematch will happen on April 12, 2014 instead at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada (April 13, Philippine time). Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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