By John F. McKenna (McJack): Worldwide outrage continues to mount in the boxing community over the miscarriage of justice that was carried out last night at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
Filipino sensation former WBO welterweight champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) was the victim of a terrible decision which resulted in him losing his title belt to new champion undefeated Timothy Bradley (29-0-1 NC, 12 KO’s).
To say that the decision was a poor one does not come close to describing the ineptness in the scoring in last night’s battle for the WBO welterweight title. Bad decisions have always played a part in the long history of boxing. Over the last several months there have been several poor decisions including the fight last December in which Derek Chisora was deprived of victory against local favorite Robert Helenius in Helsinki, Finland. Ironically Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach was a color commentator for the Helenius – Chisora fight and was outraged at the poor officiating in that fight.
In another controversial decision last December Amir Khan lost his IBF and WBA light welterweight titles to Lamont Peterson in Washington D.C. Those decisions while controversial paled in comparison to the firestorm which is still building after last nights fight.
One would have to go all the way back to July 21, 1932 in order to come close to matching last night’s controversial decision. On that date heavyweight champion Max Schmeling lost his heavyweight title to Jack Sharkey in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Most boxing observers, including former heavyweight champ Gene Tunney felt that Schmeling had done more than enough to retain his heavyweight title and take it back to his native Germany. The controversy in that fight was highlighted by Schmeling’s manager Joe Jacobs who uttered the famous phrase “We wuz robbed!” into the ring microphone.
It is more than likely that boxing fans will still be talking years from now about the unfairness of Saturday night’s decision. This writer was not able to award Bradley more than two rounds in his victory over Pacquaio. Manny put on a dominating and masterful performance against Bradley, who although never giving up, appeared to be disheartened at his inability to land any meaningful punches against “Pacman”. Bradley allegedly acknowledged to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum before the decision was announced that he had lost the fight.
The decision was another black mark on boxing which at this point is on life support in the United States. Boxing over the last several years has had very little to cheer about. The boxing world can ill afford to treat one of its true super stars so shabbily. Millions of people from the USA, not all of them boxing fans have taken Pacquiao as one of their own. One would imagine that many of those fans were left scratching their heads after last night’s decision was announced.
This writer’s alarm bell was initially set off when the first judges score card was announced favoring Pacquiao by just a 115 – 113 margin. I though to myself, that the first judge must have been watching another fight. When the final two score cards were announced it left me shell shocked. It is difficult to fathom how all three officials could have gotten the scoring so wrong and leaves one to ponder what is going on.
My reaction was similar to the reactions of Manuel Steward, Max Kellerman, Jim Lampley and Harold Lederman, who covered the fight for HBO. Today I have talked to numerous fight fans who insist that last night was the final straw and that they will never again put out the Pay Per View (PPV) money to watch another fight. Undoubtedly millions of boxing fans across America feel the same way.
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