It`s been told Tommy Lasorda of Dodger fame once sneezed as he managed his ballclub from the dugout. His pitching coach offered ?God Bless You? in kind gesture. Mr. Lasorda asked Why do people bless you when you sneeze and the coach replied that your heart skips a beat when you sneeze so you are blessed to still be here. Mr. Lasorda replied; ?Why doesn`t someone bless me when they hit the ball to Sax?? Boxing fans, after the Pacquiao-Bradley contest will one of you loyal readers throw out a ?GOD BLESS? to me when the fight goes to the score cards.
One of the most consistent themes that readers have become accustomed of me in recent times is my analysis and explanation, often in depth in regard to how Professional Boxing is scored. Readers will often see me attempt as best as I possibly can, to make sense out of many controversies and just plain messy situations that sadly plague the sport of Boxing on an ongoing basis.
The latest controversy that now plagues the sport of Boxing is the result of last Saturday?s WBO World Welterweight championship fight between Boxing superstar and WBO champion Manny Pacquiao and undefeated Jr. Welterweight world champion Timothy Bradley. What looked like a solid contest on paper between two world class fighters quite frankly was a miss-match. Going into the fight many had asked me for a customary prediction of how the fight would go. As I always do, I did not give any predictions but instead offered a well-educated guess with some explanation as to what may happen.
This was a fight of one fighter?s speed and ability to use angles to execute his offense against a fighter with the ability to walk down his opponents with consistent pressure. The key was would Timothy Bradley be able to neutralize Manny Pacquiao?s speed and nullify his lateral movement in order to get on the inside where he could do damage. When the fight got underway I expected Bradley to use his strength to try and muscle Pacquiao backward and attempt to trap him. This would have been to Bradley?s advantage being a pressure fighter who fights on the inside. Unfortunately last Saturday, Bradley could not execute his game plan.
Pacquiao was able to find a home for his straight left hand and seemed to land it when ever he wanted on Bradley?s face. This was complimented by quick combinations by Pacquiao. Pacquiao appeared to stun Bradley periodically through several of the early rounds. Pacquiao also was able to keep Bradley at distance with his footwork. This was clearly not the kind of fight that those who had picked Bradley to upset Pacquiao had expected. Despite being outgunned and frankly outclassed, Bradley was very ?Game? and kept coming forward. Bradley also fought most of the bout hurt as he twisted right ankle and fractured his left foot over the course of the fight. Bradley deserves much credit for fighting through what had to be excruciating pain and continuing to try to turn things around in his favor. Bradley attempted to make an adjustment and try to pick his openings midway through the fight but in the opinion of this observer he was unable to cause any significant damage to Pacquiao nor was he able to land enough punches on a consistent basis to win any rounds.
Timothy Bradley is a very good world class fighter and I take nothing away from him in regard to his accomplishments or his skills. On this night however Bradley was bested by a better fighter who is frankly on another level in terms of skill.
What appeared to almost all observers as a clear decisive win for Pacquiao quickly turned into outrage when the decision of a split decision of a score of 115-113 was rendered for Bradley. What was also apparent to this observer was the facial expressions of Bradley, his corner, and Bradley?s wife prior to the decision being announced at the conclusion of the twelve round championship bout. In the opinion of this observer I believe all believed that Manny Pacquiao had won the fight.
As someone who has been extremely vocal over the years in regard to controversial decisions and for someone with great understanding of how Boxing on both the Amateur and Professional levels is scored, frankly the decision rendered in this fight disgusts me. With all due respect to Timothy Bradley, he did not ?Win? this fight, nor was he able to land enough significant punches where one could make an excuse for the scores being close.
Frankly the scores of all three judges are at the least extremely incompetent. Even the score of Judge Jerry Roth who scored the fight 115-113 for Pacquiao is not adequate to the action in the fight. The consensus was that Pacquiao had won this fight by at least margins of 9 rounds to 3 or 10 rounds to 2. My unofficial scorecard was all for Pacquiao as I had him winning by a shut out. To be honest there were two rounds that could have gone either way. I chose to score them for Pacquiao.
The basis of my scorecard was due to the overall ring generalship, clean punching, and defense of Pacquiao. As I said Bradley was very ?Game? however he did not land anything significant to win any of the rounds in my opinion. He never stunned or caused any wear and tear to Pacquiao over the course of twelve rounds. Pacquiao however was able to stun and hurt Bradley several times throughout the fight. I can see scores on some scorecards giving Bradley a round or two that may have been considered by some as ?Swing rounds? where there may not have been much action going on or a round or two where Pacquiao was not as aggressive. It is absurd however to see a scorecard of 115-113 for either fighter in a fight like this. Pacquiao ?Dominated?
Sadly, this is not the first time we have seen an incompetent decision rendered in Las Vegas. Many will recall the recent bout between rising star Brandon Rios and top Lightweight contender Richard Abrill that took place earlier this year. The consensus of that fight was that Abril a pure boxer had out boxed the heavy-handed Rios over twelve rounds and should have won that fight by a wide margin. Unfortunately the judges gave the decision to Rios via split decision with judges Jerry Roth and Glenn Trowbridge scoring the fight 115-113 in Rios favor. Despite the opinion of many of a bad decision and or incompetent scoring the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not take action to at the minimum review the fight to see if disciplinary action was warranted.
We must remember that Jerry Roth did score last Saturday?s fight in favor of Pacquiao however my issue is how could the score be as close as it was? Of course the argument that judges and Athletic commissions often use to try to deflate controversial scoring in fights like this and Rios-Abril is to simply say that the fight looks different on television than it does in person. Also you will hear judges ignore CompuBox statistics in cases where the fighter who landed more punches and at a higher percentage was not declared the victor.
We must also remember that CompuBox statistics are not a part of the judging process and that judges scoring a fight do not have access to those statistics during the fight. Despite the stance of some that if you watch a fight on television, you should do so with the sound muted to block out any crowd noise and or commentary from broadcasters calling the fight, I have always covered Boxing with my eyes not my ears! I do not believe that this fight was close and although I give Bradley much credit for a valiant effort I don?t feel he did enough to make the fight close, much less win it. Therefore I cannot see any justifiable way one may argue how Bradley could have won the fight, much less win five of the last six rounds on the scorecards of Judges Duane Ford and CJ Ross.
Judge Duane Ford is considered by many to be the ?Dean? of Boxing judges and I find it hard to believe that a judge as experienced as Ford not only misjudged this fight but made totally unfounded statements Ford stated in an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal ?I thought Bradley gave Pacquiao a boxing lesson, I thought a lot of the rounds were close. Pacquiao missed a lot of punches and I thought he was throwing wildly. This isn’t American Idol. If I judge for the people, I shouldn’t be a judge. I went in with a clear mind and judged each round.” Mr. Ford, with all due respect I very strongly disagree? In my opinion as credible as your credentials were coming into this fight, I believe you will be remembered for this decision. In sports regardless of accomplishments, it only takes one blemish to damage your legacy.
ESPN Boxing Analyst Teddy Atlas said following the fight that this decision again brings to light the need for a national organization to oversee Boxing. Other sports have it and it works. Under this type of organization, judges would be reviewed and held accountable. He alluded to possible corruption within the sport may have played a factor and that a national organization would police such practices. He clearly stated only one man won this fight and that was Manny Pacquiao.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has stated that it has no plans to review the decision or to discipline the judges. The commission as well has no intention of reviewing the fight. The consensus being that in all close fights, the fighter who loses wants an investigation.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who handles both Pacquiao and Bradley has chosen to appeal not to the commission but to the Nevada State Attorney General for a full inquiry into the fight. No doubt Mr. Arum does not believe that he would obtain an objective review and just ruling from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Will Justice be done?
This latest controversy has formed many questions surrounding this fight. How could three judges be so opposite of practically everyone else?s take on this fight? Is corruption involved? How could Timothy Bradley state eleven days before the fight that there would be a rematch on Novemeber 10th at the MGM Grand, the venue where last Saturday?s bout took place? Was gambling involved? Who benefits the most out of this?
As a Boxing journalist, historian, and life long fan I say it is time to clean up this sport?Unfortunately when many things go wrong in a sport there comes a time when action must be taken and an example be set. In this case we must set this example regrettably on the Mecca stage of Boxing in the state of Nevada. It is my hope that the readers of this column, Boxing fans, Promoters, Fighters, Journalists, Networks etc. petition the state of Nevada for justice.
I do not expect nor do I call for the state of Nevada to overturn the Pacquiao-Bradley decision however, I would like to see Nevada lead the way and come up with a plan for a national commission. Standards have to be set in our sport and there has to be accountability. Enough is enough?
In closing, in my opinion Manny Pacquiao won this fight, yet I applaud Timothy Bradley for his heart and courage. My opinion on how this decision was rendered; ?When there is no reasoning, when there is no plausible evidence, when there is questionable performance, I can only offer, my guess is follow the money?? To parallel the late great Bert Sugar I would have loved to approach these judges however, I may have tripped over their seeing eye dogs?
