That Manny Pacquiao was cheated in his fight with Timothy Bradley only looks that way. But until a formal investigation is launched to determine why a fight that seemed to be going in Pacquiao?s favor went the other way instead to Bradley, we will never know for sure.
What is clear is that if anyone got cheated in that fight it is the fans themselves. The fans did not pay good money to guarantee Pacquiao his purse of $26 million, plus millions more in pay-per-view shares, only to be dealt with a split decision from the world?s most exciting boxer.
In other words, Pacquiao did not live up to expectations, expectations that he himself helped fuel. Remember that just days before the fight, Pacquiao was quoted as saying he needed to win in spectacular fashion.
It is easy to see why he said that. His main rival for the pinnacle of boxing popularity, Floyd Mayweather Jr., had just come off a crushing win over Miguel Cotto while Pacquiao himself could only manage a controversial split decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez.
With Mayweather in jail shortly thereafter for domestic violence, the spotlight swung back to Pacquiao. But this time he needed to regain his lofty standing more assertively. Thus, his admission that he needed to win spectacularly.
But as everybody who follows boxing knows, a split decision is far from spectacular, no matter who gets declared the winner. Even if it was Pacquiao who won by that kind of decision, it will still be a win that falls far short of being spectacular.
Of course, because we are Filipinos, we would have willingly accepted any kind of victory for as long as it is our compatriot who is the victor. But don?t you think that, for a minimum of $26 million, the fans deserve something more than just a split decision?
Win or lose, Pacquiao is guaranteed his millions by fans who continue to patronize his fights. Pacquiao would be cheating these fans if is no longer able to give them what they want on account of his being distracted and preoccupied with other things.
