CONTRARY to the universal howl of Filipinos all over the world, I don?t think Manny Pacquiao was cheated out of a victory against Timothy Bradley. Granted that I myself saw Pacquiao win the bout, my position is that the judges saw him lose and judged the bout fairly as such.
This will probably earn me dozens of hate mail again, but I do believe Pacquiao lost fairly because of the limitation of the 10-point must system.
But how can Pacquiao land more punches over the course of the whole fight, land stronger punches, and land the higher percentage of punches and still lose? Well, that?s because of the limitation of the 10-point must system, which is universally adopted in boxing and MMA matches.
Under the 10-point must system, the judges give the winner of a round 10 points, and the loser 9 points or fewer. A knockdown usually results in a score of 8 for the boxer, who was knocked down, and 10 for his opponent.
So during the course of the bout, even though Pacquiao won the middle rounds so dominantly, he still only got 10 points per round while Bradley got 9 because Bradley didn?t get knocked down.
And when Bradley won the latter rounds (even though not as convincingly), he still also got 10 points while Pacquiao also got 9 points. When they tallied up the scores and Bradley won more rounds he was rightly declared the winner based on the 10-point must system.
So in other words, even though Pacquiao landed more punches, landed the harder punches, was the more accurate puncher over the course of the entire fight and Bradley was obviously more hurt, Bradley still won because he won more rounds.
During the breaks in between the latter rounds, you could hear the sense of urgency from Buboy Fernandez as he exhorted Pacquiao to keep the pressure and keep attacking Bradley because the fight was still up for grabs.
I don?t know whether Pacquiao was too tired. Or whether he felt he had already won the fight because of his work in the earlier rounds (like in the Shane Mosley, and Antonio Margarito fights), but Pacquiao simply didn?t do enough in the latter rounds to win the fight. He simply let the victory slip away.
Bradley dug deep and found the resolve to continue fighting and somehow won the last three rounds and the fight.
It?s like the electoral college in US Presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote does not win the election. The winner of the electoral college wins the election.
* * *
However, the most significant development of Tim Bradley?s victory over Pacquiao is that it instantly gave Bradley credibility as a worthy opponent of Pacquiao and ensured that their rematch will be bigger than their first meeting, which ended in controversy.
Even though he was unbeaten, Bradley was actually a 5-1 underdog in their bout when he ended Pacquiao?s 15-fight winning streak that dated back to 2005.
The controversial result sets the stage for a lucrative November rematch.
And in a not unexpected development there didn?t seem to be bad blood between the two fighters. In fact, Bradley was quick to say that he welcomed the chance to meet Pacquiao in the ring again.
?I?ve got to give him a chance to win his title back,? Bradley said in a published report. Pacquiao?s response was that he was also eager for that rematch.
So, even though Pacquiao lost this bout, he potentially has the chance to win the next bout, which because of Bradley?s victory has become bigger, more lucrative and significantly more important than their first fight.
* * *
If you want to find out how I sound like please tune in to the two-time KBP Best Sports Program on the radio, MBC Sports Center, in our new time slot 1 to 2 p.m., every Sunday, over the no. 1 radio network in Asia, dzRH, 666 on your AM dial.
The same program is simulcast on RHTV over Channel 25 on Sun Cable and Channel 9 on Cable Link. Sports Center can be followed live from anywhere in the world through the Internet on http://dzrh.tripod.com and http://dzrh.prepys.com.
For comments, questions and non-violent reactions please, send your e-mail to [email protected].
(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/June/12)
