While the overwhelming majority of observers had Manny Pacquiao beating Timothy Bradley conclusively on points this past Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, two people had a dissenting opinion of what took place in that ring. C.J. Ross and Duane Ford both had Bradley winning the fight by the scores of 115-113 in what is being universally hailed as an outrageous robbery (Jerry Roth had Pacquiao winning by the score of 115-113).
The decision was surprising enough; more stunning was just who was victimized here, one of the biggest draws in the sport as well as one of the sports iconic figures. A man who means millions to the casino and hotel industry every single time he performs in Sin City. When Pacquiao boxes, hotel rooms are booked; cab lines are longer; clubs are more difficult to get into and down the line. There is an undeniable economic impact that is felt by just about everyone in the 702 when the ?Pac-Man? comes to town.
You come to expect this in boxing- you just didn?t expect it to happen to Pacquiao. He is supposed to be the recipient of dubious decisions. Just ask Juan Manuel Marquez.
What type of world are we now living in where the house fighter can?t even get a decision he deserved?
?I want to say for myself, I have never been ashamed as much to be associated with the sport of boxing as I am tonight,? said promoter Bob Arum, thought by many to be shameless in many other instances. Arum has been on both side of the spectrum, from last November?s rubber match between Pacquiao and Marquez to fights like the rematch between Shane Mosley and Oscar De la Hoya. ?This is totally different; this is a fight that people- respected people- scored it 11-1, 10-2. Everybody was talking about how Bradley was trying hard but it was a mismatch and then to hear scores like we heard tonight, it?s totally unfathomable. Unfathomable! You look at the punch-stats; you look at it with your own eyes, what you saw. There?s no way I can explain it. I?ve been in places where there?s hometown decisions that are outrageous but, wink, wink, you knew what was happening. I don?t think anything was happening here except these people don?t know how to score. They really don?t; they really don?t.?
The names may change in terms of who?s inside the ring but in Nevada, they never seem to regarding who is scoring the fights. Duane Ford has been a fixture for years. He?s part of a cast of officials who seem more entrenched than Supreme Court justices.
?Two of the judges were judging fights when I came to Las Vegas,? said Arum, who moved Top Rank?s operations to the desert in 1986, ?and the truth is they?re too damn old to judge anymore. That?s the truth and the third judge, the lady, I don?t think she?s ever done a championship fight before. [Editor?s note: C.J. Ross has scored several championship fights in the past, the last three being Saul Alvarez vs. Shane Mosley (118-110, Alvarez), Toshiaki Nishioka vs. Rafael Marquez (115-113, Nishioka) and Abner Mares vs. Joseph Agbeko I (113-113)] What the hell were these people…all three of them, including the one who called it 7-5 for Pacquiao, what were they looking at?! I?m crazy; everybody I respect is crazy. Like the Marquez-Pacquiao fight, a lot of people thought Marquez won; a lot of people thought Pacquiao won- but it was close. Everybody said it was close but this wasn?t really a close fight.?
Once again, boxing has a credibility problem with the general public (and invariably, you?ll hear media types who watch about three fights a year trot out the tired ?black eye for boxing? line). It cannot be denied, regardless of who the combatants are; the viewing audience would like to know that whoever won a particular fight got his hand raised in victory. The collective reaction of the public on social networks and such was nearly unanimous. Arum said while he was happy for Bradley (who is also under the Top Rank umbrella), he noted the verdict in his favor was, ?not good for the sport of boxing.? The fight was actually pretty good, one that had some heated exchanges and some spirited back-and-forthing but unfortunately, that?s not what this fight will be remembered for. ?People look and say, ?The HBO announcers were all schmucks because they had it 11-1.? In watching the fight, I must be a schmuck also because I also had it 11-1 and these judges somehow scored it totally different. So nobody likes to be a schmuck.?
Arum wonders if this was just gross incompetence and not corruption.
?How can you watch a sport where you don?t see any motive for any malfeasance and yet come up with a result with what we came up with tonight? How do you explain it to everybody?? he asked rhetorically.
There was talk of a protest but honestly, those go absolutely nowhere. The real question is, when will Nevada – which has perhaps the most important boxing commission in the world – get a new, fresh set of judges? In other sports such as the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, their referees and umpires are constantly graded and held accountable. If they don?t meet a certain standard, they are summarily dismissed. But in Nevada, the same roster of judges has seemingly been in place since the time Bugsy Siegel was running Vegas. And it doesn?t help that they rarely bring judges from other jurisdictions for their biggest and most important events.
Till all this changes, nothing will.
?I?m telling you, anything I say about the judges, about the commission, appointing judges, their answer will be to get me up at the next commission meeting and either make me sit in the back for the future or fine me. I?m saying nothing about the commission,? said Arum, who then couldn?t help himself by stating, ?I got the best eye doctor in the world, the Jules Stein Clinic, and if they would get on a plan to L.A., I would pay for their visit.?
As for Bradley, he fought hard, boxed effectively at times, showed a stout chin and elusiveness in dodging Pacquiao?s volleys but you got the sense he didn?t do nearly enough to win this fight. When asked about the unpopular nature of the decision, he said, ?Well, there?s three judges out there and that?s the way they judge it. So what do you want me to do? That?s the way they judged it. My corner felt we were winning the fight; I was controlling the action. But like I said, there were three judges out there; two of them feel like I won the fight and that?s all I can say.?
Bradley, who suffered a fractured left foot and a twisted ankle early on in the contest, showed up at the press conference in a wheelchair. Yeah, it was that kinda night; the guy who was wheeled in- that was the winner. ?I heard the boos at the end of the night, which is OK,? he said. ?but we need to definitely do this again in November and let?s make it more decisive.?
Pacquiao, seemingly dazed by the decision, stated, ?100 percent I believe I won this fight.? But he seemed to take it remarkably well, adding later on, ?That?s part of the sport.? He fought a good fight but you wonder why he stepped off the gas pedal in the second half. Regardless, his trainer, Freddie Roach, remarked, ?I thought that was the best fight [Pacquiao] fought since the [Miguel] Cotto fight.?
So will we see a return bout between the two? Pacquiao stated clearly, ?I want the rematch; it?s up to Bob Arum,? to which the promoter replied, ?If you want it Manny, that?s what we?ll do.?
OK, but while Manny may yearn for a rematch, it?s not so clear the public- which already believes he was the winner the first time around- will want to fork out more money on the simple premise that a bad decision was rendered the night of June 9th, 2012. Truth be told, for the first time in several years, you saw empty seats in Vegas for a Pacquiao fight and tickets could be had on the secondary market for below face value in the days leading up to last weekend. Also, most industry insiders will be surprised if this pay-per-view gets to the million mark, which Pacquiao has reached routinely since 2009. Yeah, this fight had a controversial spin to it but the truth is it may not be enough of a real selling point to do it again.
For better or worse, the business of boxing will continue but you wonder if business as usual is healthy for the long-term relevancy of the sport. You have to be a bit twisted to like this game; no doubt about it.
Perhaps Pacquiao said it best when it was all said and done, ?That?s how we love this boxing.?
Even when it?s so hard to love.
CONSPIRACY THEORY
I?ve heard that perhaps Top Rank and Bob Arum wanted to get Manny knocked off and they were behind this unpopular decision. Uh, yeah, the only problem with that Oliver Stone-esque theory in my opinion is that there is a very limited upside for Bradley in terms of being a crossover star that Pacquiao has become. And unless someone can show me some real evidence that Manny?s deal with Top Rank was ending and seriously contemplating leaving, I simply can?t buy into this.
Just my opinion, if they were going to cash out Pacquiao, it would be in a fight with Floyd Mayweather for all the marbles, not Bradley. And by the way, Pacquiao is pretty damn important to Top Rank. Them getting him beat on purpose is akin to the OKC Thunder trading away Kevin Durant.
And do you think for one moment that based on public reaction and how that fight played out that Pacquiao?s contractual minimums will really change?
Sometimes a bad decision is just that- a bad decision. And nothing more.
