Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Who really lost on Saturday night?

By Boxing News - 06/13/2012 - Comments

Image: Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Who really lost on Saturday night?By Rimar Cry: I love boxing but I’m not really a fan of any particular fighter. In general, I couldn’t care less that Pacquiao has lost, especially if it was to a younger generation, fresher, hungrier fighter. Bring on the new, that’s what I say! But that isn’t the case here.

I haven’t yet seen the old champ beaten by the new upstart. It’s clear from the CompuBox numbers and by the support shown, even from many of those unhappy at Marquez’s treatment in the previous fight, that Bradley was outgunned on Saturday night.

Juan Manuel Márquez, Amir Khan, Richard Abril and now Manny Pacquiao are all fighters that have recently lost under very dubious circumstances. Why isn’t there a mechanism in place to analyze and revoke obviously incorrect decisions? Decision so far adrift of the official CompuBox statistics. The question is rhetorical; the answer is, of course, money. The odds favoured Pacquiao massively last weekend, so it’s fair to assume that somebody made a fat stack from Pacquiao’s defeat, and an overturn would have consequences.

Taking that into account, and the suspect attitude towards year ’round PED testing (why is that rule not already set in stone, as it is for every other professional sport?), it’s hard to see much future for boxing. I’m personally rapidly loosing interest.

Peterson aside, I don’t believe the boxers are at fault of fixing, nor their promoters. The problem appears to be further up the food chain. There’s a lack of scrutiny and accountability for the big guys, people such as José Sulaimán (president of the WBC), most of whom never enter the public spotlight. Who are the shady characters who comprise the upper echelons of the boxing fraternity? They benefit from our massive PPV remuneration, so surely they should be accountable in these circumstances.

The truth is simple: Pacquiao lost out a bit but he got paid in excess of $25m, and for a similar amount of money, he will undoubtedly KO Bradley in the not too distant future. Meanwhile it was us, the humble sports fan, that got stiffed. Again.



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