Manny Pacquiao probably would’ve fought differently during the final four rounds of his infamous fight against Timothy Bradley if he knew it was closer than he obviously thought.
Unfortunately, the Filipino icon had no idea the three judges seated ringside were watching a very different fight from the rest of us. The powerful southpaw simply assumed he was way ahead because he had done enough to build a sizable lead on the scorecards of Duane Ford, C.J. Ross and Jerry Roth.
Of course, Pacquiao could’ve avoided this split-decision loss and the subsequent controversy had he knocked out Bradley, who admitted he was “rocked” several times by the stronger Pacquiao during the first half of the fight.
Nevertheless, open scoring clearly could’ve assisted a fighter who ultimately was wronged. Some promoters have experimented with open scoring in the United States in recent years, but the practice of announcing each judge’s score after the fourth and eighth rounds of 12-round title fights has been met mostly with resistance.
Opponents of open scoring suggest it eliminates some of the suspense of a ring announcer informing fans who wins after fights end.
That could adversely affect television ratings, which in the long term influences fighters’ purses.
“Whether you love or hate what happened in the Pacquiao-Bradley fight, it was dramatic,” said promoter Kathy Duva, a Little Falls resident who owns Totowa-based Main Events. “This idea that judges will be more accountable if their scores are read out loud during the fight, I’m not sure.”
Duva noted that open scoring also can jeopardize the natural progression of a fight by changing the way a boxer competes if he knows he is far ahead or way behind, and/or the integrity of the outcome by altering judges’ approaches if he/she is working in a hostile environment.
“A crowd could become very oppressive if they start scoring it for the visiting fighter,” Duva said. “Judges are human, too, and they are subject to that kind of pressure.”
Proponents of open scoring contend that a fighter’s strategy should be affected by knowing the score, just as it is in virtually every other sport. Boxing is, after all, one of the few sports in which participants don’t know if they’re winning.
