“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.’ ” as quoted by ESPN.
Las Vegas, NV – New WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr., bless his heart, is a darned good boxer, and an even more admirable person. But even good people won’t concede a victory that has been awarded to them, regardless if they truly feel they do not deserve it. Advertisement
Bradley and his trainer Joel Diaz were unapologetic after scoring a shocking split-decision victory over Manny Pacquiao, despite mass protestations from the crowd gathered at the arena, as well as majority of the members of the boxing press.
“Can you believe that?” a furious Bob Arum bellowed to the press corps after the fight. “I had it 10-2. After I got into the ring after the fight, I went over to Bradley and said ‘You did very well.’ He said, ‘I tried hard, but I couldn’t beat the guy.’ This is crazy. You talk about killing boxing? All three scorecards you throw out,” the Top Rank CEO added.
If Bradley indeed said those words to Arum, then he sure did forget about it quick as he made a complete 180-degree turn at the post-fight press conference.
“I thought I won the fight,” said Bradley, who answered more than a few questions regarding the correctness of the fight’s outcome. “The funny part is that there are three judges out there, and that’s the way they judged it,” Bradley shrugged. “So I mean, what do you want me to do? That’s the way they judged it.”
Bradley has a point. What do you want him to do? Last time I checked, Pacquiao didn’t complain about his close split decision win over Marquez, nor did any other fighter who received a favorable decision in boxing. It is what it is, and in the words of ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas after the fight, boxing isn’t only incompetent, it’s also corrupt. As long as the sport is structured the way it is, then what are we all, REALLY, supposed to do?
