LAS VEGAS – Promoter Bob Arum was still fuming about
the split-decision verdict that went against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday
and said there would be no rematch with Timothy Bradley unless Nevada
attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto launches an investigation.
Bradley, a 4-1 underdog, upset Pacquiao in one of the most controversial
outcomes in years to take the World Boxing Organization welterweight
title.
All three judges scored it 115-113, with Duane Ford and C.J. Ross seeing
it in favor of Bradley and Jerry Roth siding with Pacquiao.
The rematch that Bradley thought he would get may be on hold, at least
for a while, however. Arum, whose company promotes both fighters, said
his feeling that Pacquiao had won a wide decision had not changed a day
later.
But because of the outcry among the fans and media, many of whom accused
Arum of somehow rigging the outcome, the veteran promoter said he would
demand an investigation.
"I want to investigate whether there was any undue influence, whether
the [Nevada Athletic Commission] gave any particular instruction and how
they came to this conclusion," said Arum, who at the post-fight news
conference was adamant the result was a mistake but not the result of
any chicanery. "But the whole sport is in an uproar. People are going
crazy.
"If this was a subjective view that each of [the judges] honestly held,
OK. I would still disagree, but then we're off the hook in terms of
there being no conspiracy. But there needs to be an independent
investigation because it strains credulity that an event everybody saw
as so one-sided one way all three judges saw it as close. It strains
credulity."
Ford spoke by telephone to Yahoo! Sports on Sunday. He said the
criticism is a part of the job he accepts, but said those criticizing
the outcome are almost certainly not familiar with the way fights are
judged.
"If this were 'American Idol', without a doubt, Manny Pacquiao would
have won," Ford said. "But it was not. I gave an honest opinion. I had
Pacquiao up 4-2, I think, at the end of six rounds. I thought he hurt
Bradley a couple of times early in the fight. But when the bell rang to
end that round, it was over and what happens in one round doesn't carry
over to the next round. They're separate units.
"In the second half of the fight, Pacquiao picked off a lot of punches
to the head, but Bradley landed some hard body shots. That hurt
Pacquiao. I don't mean it hurt him in the sense of it physically hurting
him, but in terms of scoring and piling up points. Bradley did an
excellent job standing his ground as a boxer. Remember, it's a boxing
match and Bradley demonstrated his ability to box expertly."
Bradley has been harshly criticized by many who believe Pacquiao won,
but the fact that Bradley won the fight with two badly injured feet
should say something about his tenacity.
And the bout might suggest that Pacquiao is declining more than
previously thought. If he had trouble with a fighter who had two injured
feet and needed a wheelchair to attend the post-fight news conference,
how difficult would it have been for him had his opponent been
completely mobile?
Bradley injured his left foot in the second round when he pivoted. His
manager, Cameron Dunkin, said an examination late Saturday revealed torn
ligaments that will keep him off it for several weeks to a month.
He said the X-ray did not show a fracture, but doctors ordered an MRI on Monday in Palm Springs, Calif.
"They said that just because the X-ray did not show a fracture didn't
mean there isn't one," Dunkin said. "He has a lot of pain on the top of
the foot and there are 700 bones in there. Some of them are so small.
The doctor said the only way to tell if there is a fracture is to do an
MRI."
He said there was no serious injury to the right foot, which was far more swollen than the left.
"The right was just kind of rolled and it was basically a twisted foot that was pretty swollen," Dunkin said.
Dunkin also said he was fine if Arum chose not to arrange a rematch. He
said Top Rank promotes Bradley and owes him a fight. If it chose not to
make a rematch with Pacquiao, it would have to book a different fight
for Bradley.
Juan Manuel Marquez, who lost a controversial decision to Pacquiao on
Nov. 12 in the same arena, was in attendance Saturday, Top Rank
president Todd duBoef said, because the company was planning to make
Pacquiao-Marquez IV in the event of a Pacquiao win.
That changed in light of the outcome, and Pacquiao said he wanted a
rematch. Ultimately, Arum will likely accede to Pacquiao's wishes.
Pacquiao's next fight almost certainly will not be in Las Vegas after
the uproar over Saturday's fight. Ford, though, said it is unfair for
those who don't know the scoring criteria and who weren't focusing
intently on the fight to bash the judges.
"In pro boxing, you look for damage, and if the punches are equal and
the damage is equal, you are looking for effective aggression, and that
does not necessarily mean the guy going forward," Ford said. "Effective
aggression can be a guy going back. And then you look at ring
generalship, and that's all about control.
"When you score a fight of that magnitude, you know the criticism comes
with the job. But unless you are totally focused on that scoring zone
for three minutes, it's impossible to score the fight correctly. I know
you can't do it talking into a microphone. It was a close fight in my
mind that could have gone either way. The result was nothing more than
three judges giving an honest opinion, and nothing other than that."
Arum told media at ringside that Dunkin had scored it 116-112 for
Pacquiao, but Dunkin angrily denied that Sunday. Dunkin said he had it
115-113 in favor of Bradley.
He said he understands the uproar, but said most of it is because of Pacquiao's huge popularity.
"If they're fighting on a street and we're just scoring the fight, the
whole fight, I can see you thinking maybe Pacquiao won it," Dunkin said.
"But when you score it round by round, I think it's very reasonable to
believe Bradley won."