Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says the Nevada attorney general should investigate the controversial split decision that cost boxing great Manny Pacquiao his WBO welterweight title.
Reid said an inquiry is needed to quell the uproar following the fight but said he did not suspect anything ?untoward,? such as bribery of the judges.
Reid has a good relationship with Pacquiao, who campaigned with the Democratic leader in the final days of his difficult 2010 reelection campaign.
Reid later returned the favor by inviting Pacquiao to the Senate at the beginning of last year during the boxer?s trip to D.C. to promote a fight.
Reid said he believes Pacquiao should have been declared the winner in Saturday night?s fight against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas.
?From all the reports that I?ve seen by people on the outside who saw the fight, who attempted to be fair and judge the fight, Pacquiao won the fight,? said Reid, a former member of the Nevada Athletic Commission, who used to judge boxing matches.
Bob Arum, the promoter for Pacquiao and Bradley, has formally asked for the state attorney general to conduct a probe, arguing it is necessary to answer fans? doubts about the judging process.
?Our attorney general is a wonderful woman. She?ll do her best. I feel confident there?s been nothing untoward but if an investigation makes everyone feel better, do the investigation,? Reid told reporters.
Reid said the fight ?involved hundreds of millions of dollars? and would not be a waste of the state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto?s time.
?It doesn?t hurt to clear the air and take a look at this,? he said.
Pacquiao told the Los Angeles Times in November of 2010 that he helped Reid overcome a late deficit in the polls.
“[Reid] was behind 4 percent in the polls before I got out there,” Pacquiao said. “There’s a lot of Filipinos in Las Vegas.”
