HOW prophetic of Timothy Bradley to go to the pre-fight press conference ahead of his fight with Manny Pacquiao plugging their November 10 rematch.
Who knew that the underdog, a lively one before the first bell, would be the one calling the shots afterwards having stunned Pacquiao. Well, in all honesty it seems as though the judges stunned the Filipino more than his opponent.
Their three scorecards, which ultimately saw Bradley an upset winner (for two of the judges) via split decision.
Off-TV, and admittedly after seeing several angry reports screaming an injustice, I watched (sound turned off) with as much of an open mind as I possibly could but with part of me expecting to see Bradley reeling around the ring in each session, clinging on for survival. Yes, that happened in a couple of early rounds but a lot of the stanzas were close.
Ultimately, though, I scored the fight 7-3-2 to Pacquiao and just could not make a case for a Bradley victory.
I often favour aggression and Pacquiao was more aggressive. I score for eye-catching blows and he landed more of them. And if someone wins most of the round but at the same time ships harder, more damaging blows in the process, I sometimes score the session even. And to those who call it karma for the decisions that Pacquiao obtained over Marquez I say that does not enter my scoring methodology. Each fight stands alone.
I wholeheartedly agree that this is subjective, which is why we are in the position we are in (although plenty claim more sinister forces are at play). But I, for one, just could not score that fight for Bradley. A small, very small minority, of viewers did ? although only one from ringside as far as I can tell, author Thomas Hauser ? but many had it far wider than I, giving Bradley just a round or two out of the 12 completed.
Pacquiao accepted his loss with grace, but it is a defeat he should not have to accept.
My full Pacquiao-Bradley column, and the fall-out, will be in this week?s magazine along with a ringside report from managing editor Daniel Herbert and leading expert views.
In the shops from Thursday; digitally from Wednesday.
