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Manny Pacquiao punches at Timothy Bradley Jr. during their WBO welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, June 9, 2012. Bradley won a controversial split decision.
Sunday, June 10, 2012 | 2:05 a.m.
Pacquiao loses controversial decision
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KSNV coverage of Manny Pacquiao's loss to Timothy Bradley, June 9, 2012.
LasVegasSun.com Sports Talk
All things Pacquiao
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Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer, Case Keefer and Taylor Bern usher in fight week by discussing everything surrounding Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley on their weekly "Waking up with the Sun" radio program. Has Pacquiao lost something? Does Bradley have a chance? And the obligatory question — Will Pacquiao ever fight Floyd Mayweather? Catch Las Vegas Sun sports talk Monday mornings at 8 on 91.5 KUNV.
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When Manny Pacquiao walked to the podium to greet reporters Saturday night, he entered the packed ballroom at the MGM Grand to what many feel was a dead-accurate description by his promoter.
“Please welcome the fighter you all saw winning the fight. Well, except for the three blind mice,” said Bob Arum, the outspoken CEO of Top Rank Promotions.
Pacquiao was defeated for the first time in more than seven years Saturday, shockingly dropping a split decision to Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the WBO welterweight title bout. For many, Pacquiao comfortably won the fight — HBO Sports, which provided the pay-per-view, awarded 11 of the 12 rounds to Pacquiao. Others also scored in lopsided fashion for Pacquiao. (The Sun had it 116-112).
But that wasn’t the case when the fight went to the scorecards of the “three blind mice.” C.J. Ross and Duane Ford had it 115-113 in favor of Bradley, and Jerry Roth scored in 115-113 for Pacquiao in giving Bradley an upset for the ages.
“I respect the decision, but 100 percent believe I won the fight,” Pacquiao said. “We have to respect my opponent also and give him credit.”
While Pacquiao remained polite and professional throughout the press conference, his handlers — especially Arum — weren’t as reserved. Arum went as far as asking reporters to contact the Nevada State Athletic Commission with hopes of being able to question the judges.
“So bizarre, so bizarre,” Arum said.
The statistics from the fight support the theory that Pacquiao was the clear-cut winner. In 10 of 12 rounds, Pacquiao landed more punches. Also, Pacquiao landed 34 percent of his 751 punches, while Bradley landed just 19 percent of his 839 punches. Pacquiao landed 190 power punches and Bradley landed 108.
“Almost every round I hurt him and (I know) he felt it,” Pacquiao said.
Bradley won in the later rounds.
Despite severely injuring his left ankle in the second round — a setback that limited him to a wheelchair and sent him to the hospital after the fight — Bradley regained his stamina in the mid-to-late rounds and rallied late on the scorecards. He won five of the final six rounds on the scorecards of Ross and Ford, taking advantage of Pacquiao not going for the knockout.
The general consensus in boxing scoring never changes: It’s hard for any challenger to win a decision in a back-and-forth fight because judges typically give the close rounds to the more notable fighter. Pacquiao, who hadn’t lost in seven years and is called one of the best boxers of this generation, certainly would have received the benefit of the doubt using that theory.
Then again, maybe not.
From many of the 14,206 fans booing uncontrollably in the arena to others posting on boxing website message boards and Twitter, the outrage over the decision is widespread. It even was the main topic on ESPN Radio on Saturday night, trumping coverage of the Miami Heat earning a spot in the NBA Finals.
Arum, who said the result made him ashamed for boxing, worries the flawed decision will further turn away fans in a sport with a scoring system always at the center of controversy. Tonight, that scoring system reared its ugly head in another black eye for the struggling sport. A handful of rounds were apparently closer than what most observers witnessed.
"Fans from other sports, fans who like athletic competition but who have no connection to the sport, will be turned off," Arum said.
Even though the fight clearly favored Pacquiao, some may argue he’s at fault for not finishing strong.
Bradley says he got his strength back in the sixth round, and by the end of the fight, felt he had a chance to win on points. “My corner told me if I won the last round, I would win the fight,” Bradley said.
And, on all three judges’ scorecards, he did just that to secure the win.
“I thought we clearly won the fight. I didn’t see many close rounds,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer.
Bradley made headlines earlier in the week at a pre-fight press conference when he confidently held up an oversized ticket for a Nov. 10 fight against Pacquiao, which would only happen if Bradley won to trigger a rematch clause in the contract. Looks like he was right in an upset for the ages — Bradley closed as a +380 betting underdog, meaning gamblers made $380 for every $100 bet on Bradley.
No rematch has officially been set, but it’s almost guaranteed to happen. “This will make me become a warrior in the rematch,” Pacquiao said. “My thinking is I won’t want to finish the whole 12 rounds.”
A date won’t be determined until Bradley’s left foot is recovered, which means a November fight could be unlikely. Pacquiao said he wants the rematch to happen in Las Vegas — not Texas or Florida, other options that were briefly floated.
“I prefer to fight here in Las Vegas. I like Las Vegas,” he said.
And, when he does fight, the legend will do so on unfamiliar grounds — as the challenger, trying to breaking a losing streak after a dominating stretch of 15 consecutive wins.
Following a majority of Pacquiao’s fight the past years, the talk has been about a potential mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Saturday night that abruptly changed, and the sport of boxing is likely not better for it.
“I didn’t listen to the announcement (from the judges) because I thought I won (with) all three judges,” Pacquiao said.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.
Sadly the judges were either sleeping through the fight or they were paid off.
Was that Bob Arum's first promotion? He talks about a bad decision, Nice production "BOB" what was it over an hour between prelim and main event! There was so much dead time last night!
This is the will of the Boxing Gods. They are punishing both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao for their arrogance and pride. The fight of The Century should have taken place 3-4 years ago, now we will have to watch the "two old men" slug it out in a pale mockery of what coulda/woulda/shoulda been the fight that saved the sport.
Manny should acknowledge his error and retire from the sport with his health and a meeker spirit leaving Floyd too strut around crowing about being the greatest ever all the while knowing in the back of his mind that Manny Pacquiao circa 2007 would have beaten his ass. Floyd, left with no alternative, will wind up falling in and out of jail due to his poor moral character and when he is old maybe he can open doors for tourists at a local casino or maybe write a one man show about how he squandered his one shot at immortality.
Great post ElJeffe!
@toloff,
The TV people hold huge sway over when bouts start. The PPV card couldn't start until 9EST and then the main event couldn't start till well after Celtics-Heat was over.
Also, there was a 15 minute delay due to Pacquiao going missing. He was working his calf muscles.
Not only is he sitting in Jail,but Im sure by now He has learned that he also lost about 45 million dollars last night
Isnt Karma a B****!
Literally ROFL
peace out
The entourage will be vacating southern highlands soon lol
I have been following boxing for a long time and I love the sport. I have seen the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, and the rest of the Mexican, Puerto Rican, and other boxers who excelled in the sports.
There are controversies along the line but the sport of boxing endured. There were decisions that were unpopular but that was because the bout was close and could go either way.
But the Pacquiao/Bradley fight was not even close. Even a first time boxing viewer who saw the fight would figure out that Pacquiao was dominant and scored the most point. When the first and second score was announced, I can't believe it was that close. But when the third score announced Bradley won the fight, I was dumbfounded. How can it be?
Maybe Arum is right. Have the judges investigated and maybe they can explain their reasoning behind their decision. If they can explain it clearly and they can prove that Bradley really won, then so be it.
But until the controversy is cleared, there will be doubts about the sport and I for one, will no longer be a boxing fan. I lost confidence in the judging and the Nevada Athletics Commission should investigate farther to clear their credibility. Last nights decision was bad for boxing and bad for sports.
For me and a lot of fans, Manny Pacquiao won and he will always be the best boxer pound for pound.
Although Manny got robbed he behaved with dignity and composure. Still inspiring even in "defeat".
What's all the criticism about the decision? Didn't Pacquio get the benefit of a close decision against Mosley? Now this will be 2 out of 3 with both fighters having great paydays.
The fight was fixed, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDZES3eHJ...
Everybody knows that fight was not even close, especially everyone at the ringside. I agree with manny6168, anyone new to the sports of boxing who had watch the fight would definitely agree that Pacquiao won it. Your subtitle is totally wrong, Bradley did not come strong at the end. He only managed to pull off trivial defensive punches yet better than the past 9 rounds because Pacquiao eased up on him since he knew he had almost won all the rounds. Bradley just kept on backing up until the end, 'cause he was afraid to get knocked down. Still by rounds 10 to 12, Compubox showed at least round 11 Pacquiao out-scored Bradley with landed punches and power shots. The punch stats reflected exactly what the ringside viewers, commentators and analyst had observed except for the three-blind-mice.
Definitely, the judges need to be investigated by a special independent body preferably composed of active boxing commissioners , head promoters, younger officiating judges, and reps from different boxing sanctioning bodies. So as for them as well to correct the defects in the boxing commissions' rules and standards especially the officiating procedures.