For once, there was no talk about Floyd Mayweather after a Manny Pacquiao fight. Not a single question about the ?Dream Fight? was uttered as journalists pounded away at their laptops trying to find the right words for the situation. It was almost a surreal experience since all the talk after any Mayweather or Pacquiao victory surrounded when the two were going to clash. But not on this night.
Why? Because you cannot discuss a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight when Pacquiao has just lost what is considered by many to be a heinous decision to Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
?Did that just happen?? people were saying aloud to themselves. Yes, it did. Manny Pacquiao had finally lost.
But to make sense of the loss after Pacquiao was up on most journalists? scorecards by a wide margin was the truly baffling part. Some had it as wide as 119-109 and other had it 116-112 (FightNews scored it the latter) but nobody had Timothy Bradley winning a split decision against Manny Pacquiao to take his WBO welterweight title. Two scores of 115 -113 in favor of Pacquiao and one score of 115-113 for Bradley sounded outlandish after we witnessed what appeared to be a strong performance by Pacquiao.
Maybe the Boxing Gods were extracting their revenge on the sport after the Filipino?s controversial decision over Juan Manuel Marquez last November.
But this was far more mind bogging.
Nevertheless, Timothy Bradley became the first fighter to beat Manny Pacquiao since Erik Morales did it seven years and fifteen fights ago.
If Bradley won, he certainly didn?t look like it as he had to be rolled into the conference room in a wheelchair after he injured his ankle and reportedly broke his foot.
?I?m still shocked and I don?t know what to say,? a somewhat somber Bradley said, keenly aware of the perception shared by many that he lost. But as he answered questions from his wheelchair, the giant ticket that he created for a fictional Pacquiao-Bradley rematch on November 10th in Las Vegas was raised behind him. What was thought of as a joke to media will likely soon become a reality as Bradley insists that he and Pacquiao will have to finish what they started five months from now.
?We did it! We shocked the world,? Bradley exclaimed. ?But I definitely want to do this again. I heard the boos and wasn?t totally happy with my performance.?
Just about every one of the 14,206 inside of the MGM were unhappy with the result and showered the ring with boos when Bradley was announced as the winner. Sure, there were a lot of Pacquiao supporters ? perhaps more than 80% of the arena ? but even those that weren?t fans of Pacquiao were in a state of utter disbelief when Michael Buffer announced the decision.
?Desert Storm? was most definitely a game fighter but he simply couldn?t deal with Pacquiao?s firepower in the early rounds. A third round combination nearly dropped Bradley while a barrage of punches rattled Bradley badly in the fifth. He wouldn?t go down, however. If he did, he would had definitely lost on the scorecards. But, who knows, maybe the judges wouldn?t have seen it.
?I?m going to be honest, he caught me a couple of times,? Bradley said. ?I?ve never been in the ring with someone who can throw a six-punch combinations and they were all hard. He was a lot smarter than I thought he would be. Every now and then when I traded with him I got stung.?
Bradley stated that although he felt Pacquiao?s power, some adjustments made later in the fight were the difference. But if you ask Bob Arum, there was no difference made by Bradley that would affect the scores. Arum told the press that he had it 10-2 and was disgusted with the decision.
?In all of my 47 years in boxing I have never been this ashamed for this sport,? he bellowed.
Pacquiao?s trainer, Freddie Roach, could barely muster up the words to explain what took place.
?I think the judges had their eyes closed,? said the trainer, also scoring it 10-2 for his fighter. ?I didn?t see that many close rounds. I?m not sure if our last fight had something to do with it.?
Roach stated that he advised Pacquiao take the 11th round off and go for the knockout in the 12th, clearly not aware that those two rounds were the deciding factors on the scorecards. If Pacquiao had won both rounds on the scorecards of either CJ Ross (who gave the 11th and 12th to Bradley) or Duane Ford (who gave the 12th to Bradley), he would have won the fight.
But needing a knockout was the furthest thing from Roach?s mind.
?I just like knockouts,? Roach says when asked if he knew the fight was going down to the wire. ?I told him to finish him in the twelfth only because I like knockouts with no questions asked.?
Despite what will be considered an atrocious decision, Pacquiao entered the room with barely a scratch and a smile on his face. It was a strange smile; one that said ?I knew I won but I don?t really know how to handle this loss right now.?
Nevertheless, it was a smile.
Pacquiao says that he paid Michael Buffer no mind as the scores were being announced. ?I don?t listen to the announcement because I believed I won,? Pacquiao said. ?I respect the decision. It?s part of the game. But I thought I won.?
Although he was not as visibly outraged as Arum, Roach or the other 14,000+ at the MGM, the Filipino wasn?t happy with the decision, but he was even more annoyed that Bradley switched up his plan after he tasted the Pac Man?s power. ?My goal was to knock him out and for him to go toe to toe with me,? Pacquiao said. Bradley obliged in the early rounds but after he was stung by Pacquiao?s straight left and wicked combinations, Bradley got on his bicycle. ?But what happened is the same thing as my other opponents, running.?
Pacquiao was a bit more generous on his personal scorecard as he gave three rounds to Bradley. ?Aside from those three rounds I know I hurt him in almost every round.?
Obviously, Pacquiao would like a rematch but, as he always does, he deferred to Bob Arum when asked if that?s his next move. Arum wasted no time by responding.
?If you want the rematch that?s what we?ll do,? the Top Rank head honcho said.
Pacquiao, for the first time, seemed incensed by Arum?s response. He grit his teeth as he tried to find the right words to explain the pleasure he?ll take in getting revenge. ?That makes me wants to be a warrior. In a rematch I?m thinking that I don?t want it to go the whole twelve rounds.?
For now, Timothy Bradley has etched his name in the tablets of boxing history, although smothered in controversy. Nevertheless, a win is a win and Team Bradley will try to celebrate this victory, no matter how many naysayers believe his deserved it.
?It?s tough for Timmy to win this title and get all of the boos and negative responses,? Bradley?s trainer, Joel Diaz said to FightNews. ?He didn?t get any respect before this fight and he isn?t getting any respect now.?
Sad, but true.
The only way to redeem himself is to put on a definitive performance when they meet again. Until then, he may be the champion but Pacquiao remains the people?s champ.
There?s 150 days until the proposed Pacquiao-Bradley 2.
Let the countdown begin.
