By Danny Duffy: I do not believe that there is a single rational, intelligent human being on this planet that genuinely believes Timothy Bradley 29-0 (12) won his bout with Manny Pacquiao 54-4-2 (38) on Saturday. Getting the decision and winning the bout are not always the same thing.

Even now, with the dust beginning to settle, the outcry can be heard. This will go down as a dark episode in the history of this once great sport. I concede, this was not Manny’s best performance; but he did more than enough to retain his WBO strap. Bradley was outclassed early when he pressed any sort of attack, being punched around the ring and stunned several times.

Pretty much from the fourth round onwards, Bradley stayed on the back foot, and looked timid, throwing his ‘stay-away-from-me-jab’ with limited effect. It never looked like Bradley wanted, or had the ability, to hurt Pacquiao. If that performance was a ‘boxing lesson’ – as judge Duane Ford described it – that deserved to be rewarded with a world title, then perhaps the MMA fans are right – boxing is long dead. But, of course, I do not believe either of these statements.

Judges Jerry Roth, Duane Ford and C. J. Ross disgraced the sport with their verdict. Roth got the result painfully wrong – awarding Bradley more than two rounds is generous but 115-113 to Pacquiao did not paint an accurate picture of the fight. This result should be investigated, because making the fight appear so close gives credibility to the other two diabolical scores. Therefore, conspiracy theories are given fresh ground; people speaking of an ‘inside job’ sound more credible than those purporting this was simply a display of incompetence. After all, how can three supposed ‘experts’ come to a result that other well-known and genuine boxing experts (Harold Lederman/Larry Merchant, for example) laugh at. Jim Lampley described this as the ‘worst scoring he has ever seen’.

This paragraph was to be an examination of Ford and Ross’s verdicts. Is that necessary? Can I say anything that has not been said by someone far more qualified than me? Out of 93 experts, 92 strongly disagreed with this decision (BoxRec), 91 giving the result to Pacquiao without question. CompuBox proved these 91 correct. How can I add to that? These judges are an absolute disgrace to the sport. They should be banned from ever judging another bout. Even if they are not, what champion in his right mind would take on a fight with one of these guys ringside? I would trust my 3 year old cousin’s verdict over these once-called ‘experts’. The fight was not close. The results should have been a formality.

Judge Ford noted that Pacquiao was ‘wild’. Wild? This was the most contained Pacquiao performance to date. He demonstrated a great level of discipline and a hitherto little seen ability to effectively counter punch.

The bottom line is: if Pacquiao and Bradley did their jobs as badly as these judges, we would not know who they were – let alone be talking about them as world champions.