Boxing obviously needs fixing, but it isn’t fixed.
Conspiracy theorists worldwide have been busy since Manny Pacquiao “lost” late Saturday night fabricating claims of impropriety, none of which is supported by a shred of evidence. The most popular plot they’ve pushed on Internet message boards and sports-talk radio shows is that promoter Bob Arum “fixed” the fight.
Arum, whose company promotes Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, often draws the fury of fight fans looking for someone to blame when something goes wrong in boxing. While very powerful and very wealthy, Arum isn’t boxing’s “Wizard of Odds,” standing behind a gigantic curtain, manipulating everything in and out of the ring so that he makes as much money as possible.
You can blame Arum for essentially refusing to match Pacquiao, his company’s cash cow, against anyone that isn’t represented by Top Rank. But what sense would it make to fix a fight so that Pacquiao loses?
Arum won’t make more money because Pacquiao lost, despite that he represents both boxers. The unconvinced contend there’s more money in a Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, that controversy sells.
Granted, casual sports fans are talking more about boxing this week than usual because of the Pacquiao-Bradley debacle. This just angers consumers, though, and makes them less likely to buy a pay-per-view rematch that simply isn’t necessary.
There might be two people in the world outside of Bradley’s family and inner circle who truly think Bradley beat Pacquiao. Unfortunately, their names are Duane Ford and C.J. Ross, the judges who scored Bradley a 115-113 winner.
Their epic incompetence doesn’t build Bradley into a star, nor does it generate genuine intrigue if they fight again in five months.
Plus, Pacquiao already was headed toward settling another controversy in November, a fight that would’ve attracted a lot of attention and earned everyone involved a lot of money. Before this travesty, the Filipino superstar was expected to participate in a fourth fight against Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, who suffered an infamous majority decision loss to Pacquiao seven months ago in that same Las Vegas ring.
Concocting conspiracy theories might be fun for the most skeptical among us, but it neglects logic, as well as boxing’s biggest problem. This never-ending judging epidemic is destroying an already sullied sport.
Yes, boxing must be fixed, just not in the way conspiracy theorists would have you believe.
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