In a shocking result, Timothy Bradley defeated Manny Pacquiao in a split-decision, shocking probably the world.
Pacquiao won at least 11 of the 12 rounds. Not once did I think Bradley had Pacquiao or he was getting him good. Or when I though the Pacman could be in trouble.
Not once.
But somehow, Bradley remains undefeated and won.
"I've never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight," said Bob Arum, who handled both fighters.
Two judges had Bradley with a 115-113 score while the other had Pacquiao at 115-113. Most of the media, such as ESPN and HBO, had Pacquiao with 119-109. The Associated Press had 117-111 in the favor of the Pacman.
Juan Manuel Marquez must be the most pissed off man in the world right now after watching this. As for Floyd Mayweather, he's probably laughing his ass off in his prison cell.
"I did my best," Pacquiao said. "I guess my best wasn't good enough."
I honestly do not even know what the hell is wrong with this sport now. It's just sad. Right now, it easily looks like it was fixed, and it makes sense. And we thought the NBA was rigged.
Bradley said he will check the tape after the match and see if he actually won. Even before the decision, Bradley's trainer didn't even think he won. Nobody did and probably not even Bradley himself.
"Can you believe that? Unbelievable," Arum said. "I went over to Bradley before the decision and he said, `I tried hard but I couldn't beat the guy.' "
Why?
Well it happened with Floyd Mayweather when he left Arum. Since then, Mayweather hasn't fought any Top Rank fighter since then.
As for Arum, he makes a ton of money now. After the fight, they already called for a rematch on November 10. Why so quickly? There's no way this all could just be a coincidence. Arum is a greedy guy and he knows it. He just wanted to cover it up in his quotes.
"I'll make a lot of money off the rematch, but this was outrageous," Arum said.
Pacquiao threw 493 punches, landing 190. Bradly threw 390 while landing 109. That right there ends it. No way this could have been in Bradley's favor, unless if Arum just fixed it and now Timothy is his new mule now instead of the Pacman.
If Bradley does check the tape, he'll know he lost. I bet he will be calling Pacquiao instantly and saying to just come over to get his belts now. It would be the right thing to do, and good for his integrity and credibility (even though the decision or anything wasn't even his fault).
I honestly don't know how boxing has come to this. Who knows if it is dead, but I bet the sport has just lost a bunch of fans. Sucks Pay-Per-View I guess. It's things like these that I don't even pay for it and I watch it on streams. After something like this, it's the reason why I don't pay.
Bob Arum fixed the fight. He doesn't care what happens to sport.
It's just as long as he gets his cash.
Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. He also contributes at Hoops Authority and Eight Points Nine Seconds. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.
