PHONE RINGING OFF THE HOOK!
Bradley Backing Pacquiao Off Him!
San Francisco, CA– There have been some atrocities when it comes to scoring boxing matches, especially in the last year or so. There was the Erislnady Lara “rape” by three now suspended judges in Atlantic City last June in the Paul Williams fight. The Gabriel Campillo–Tavoris Cloud fight went to the “wrong” guy in Cloud in Tex-ass. Most recently, Richard Abril all but shutout Brandon Rios in Las Vegas, and yet he lost. This evening, June 9, 2012, controversy engulfs the boxing game again as Tim Bradley got what could best be described as a “unpopular” decision over Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.
THE SCORES WERE CLOSE TO BEING UNIFORM
Judge Jerry Roth 115-113 for Pacquiao. (More on me and JR in a follow up article later) , Duane Ford tabbed it a 115-113 win for Bradley , a 5-1 underdog, while female jurist C.J. Ross had 115-113 for Bradley. There were some rounds that may have been hard to score but I don’t think the cheerleading by HBO’s Jim Lampley for Pacquiao helped matters. Boxing is the most self-explanatory sport on television. You don’t need to tell the viewers, “Good right hand, good left hand,” s*it, this isn’t radio. I think had Lampley not been shilling for Pacquiao, something he has been guilty of far more than the two alleged cases of Domestic Violence he has been implicated in.
LAMPLEY SETS THE TONE FOR VIEWERS & CO-HORTS
With Lampley waving Manny Pacquiao “pom-poms” for 36 minutes, not mentioning the fact that Pacquiao missed a lot of punches and Bradley, while he had a “power shortage” was “touching” Manny with jabs, whether or not they were effective blows, they were landing. The outrage by the people who wagered money on Pacquiao (53-4-2, 38 KOs) was deafening to me as my phone “blew up” with texts and calls from the point that decision was announced, making Bradley 29-0, 12 KOs, for over an hour later.
BOXING HISTORIAN NEEDED A VALIUM
Boxing historian Ron Marshall was livid. He didn’t see four rounds going to Bradley. Boxing writer Socrates Palmer was equally as surprised as he had Pacquiao winning. But then I got two calls thinking that while the decision was close, they had no problem with it going either way. A close friend, on the verge of an apparent Stroke, started swearing from the time I picked up the phone until I hung up on him some two minutes later.
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND?
Manny Pacquiao has been on the non-deserving side when it comes to decisions in Las Vegas. Last November’s Juan Manuel Marquez IIIfight, I thought giving it to Pacquiao over JMM was a “near” heist. All that being said, the man who hadn’t lost in seven years, was on the wrong end of a Split Decision over 12 rounds tonight.
WAS ARUM SENDING SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES THIS WEEK?
Promoter Bob Arum, all this week he seemed to be knocking Manny Pacquiao. Saying he was one of the worst gamblers he had ever promoted, that Pacquiao was in the red with him before fights because of his gambling. If it was “body language” that Arum was dishing out to his schleps in the media, the language was not good for Pacquiao. Although Pacquiao hurt Bradley on at lest one occassion, I think the best body language of the night came from Bradley’s wife. Sitting there and looking like she was being force fed lemons, the lady didn’t smile much in 12 rounds.
ALL DEPENDS ON IF YOU GAVE BRADLEY ANY OF THE “CLOSER” ROUNDS
If you were not the usually on the money Harold Lederman, and you gave Bradley a couple of the first six rounds, then maybe you could see his slipping by Pacquiao 7-5 in rounds. But if you didn’t think Tim won any early rounds, there was no way he won the 12-rounder. Although Pacquiao is thought by this scribe to have peaked athletically, I saw the flaws in the Marquez fight that to me illustrated he was “on the slide” and knew that it wouldn’t be Floyd Mayweather that beat him first, that some “unknown,” in this case Bradley would get a nod over him. As indicated in the Marquez fight, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are on “different” tiers when it comes to prizefighting.
PACQUIAO BACK TO BEING A “ONE-TRICK” PONY!
When he was making his ascension in the boxing ranks, Manny had nothing but his “money” punch, that being the left cross form his southpaw stance. Tonight I saw him land one good right hook to the body, and one to the head, the rest, nothing but left crosses. Like the Marquez fight, but to a lesser extent, Manny Pacquiao was a one-dimensional fighter whose luck with the dice finally ran out in Las Vegas. I did not score the fight but the lean was to Pacquiao
Pedro Fernandez