By John F. McKenna (McJack): You would expect that new World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (29-0-1 NC, 12 KO’s) would have gained some measure of respect after his win over Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) on June 9. But if anything, Bradley has been castigated by boxing fans and the media.

Let’s face reality, the Bradley – Pacquiao fight was not even close. Most boxing observers had “Pacman” well up on the scorecards, giving Bradley three of the twelve rounds at most. Even Bradley’s close friend Andre Ward had it 118 -110 for Pacquiao. Oscar De La Hoya, Aaron Pryor, Juan Manuel Marquez and the Mayweathers, not all big fans of Manny all had him winning by a comfortable margin.

The vast majority of boxing fans who witnessed the fight live or on television thought that Pacquiao won by a wide margin. The five judges brought in by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) to review the fight after the fact in an effort to do damage control all had Pacquiao winning the fight handily.

So why has there been such a huge backlash against Bradley? After all he was not one of the judges doing the scoring. Perhaps the reason is Bradley’s attitude in the aftermath of the fight. Right after the fight but before the decision was announced Bradley acknowledged to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum that he had done his best but could not handle Pacquaio. But once the decision was announced Bradley had a change of heart and pretended that he thought he had won.

In a close match it is understandable when both combatants think they have won a hard fought contest. But the fight on June 9 between Bradley and Pacquiao was anything but close. During the contest Bradley had the look of a beaten fighter. He was outclassed and overmatched and he knew it.

There is an old axiom which says “You can’t gain respect for something you didn’t really earn.” It is a little late for Bradley to now reverse course and acknowledge that he lost on June 9 after he has been pretending for the past couple of weeks that he won.

Pacquiao on the other hand has gained much respect by accepting the decision of the judges. When asked if he though he won “Pacman” answered with one word, “Absolutely!” But at the same time Manny has shown his class, accepted the decision and has chosen to move on.