Last night undisputed boxing champ Manny Pacquiao took the ring against Timothy Bradley. A good show was indeed expected, but the outcome of the fight was not.
The scorecards of the judges simply weren’t matching up to the effort that Pacquiao was putting in inside the ring.
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After 12 intense rounds, judges announced Timothy Bradley as the champion, trumping Pacquio’s 7-year run as an undefeated fighter. The announcement erupted the crowd at the MGM Grand arena into a fury of boos and visually stunned Pacquiao.
The fight promoter Bob Arum said there would be a November rematch, though he blasted the way the decision went down.
“I’ve never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight,” said Arum, who handles both fighters.
Bradley came on strong in the later rounds, winning five of the last six rounds on two scorecards and four on the third. He won 115-113 on two scorecards, while losing on the third by the same margin. The Associated Press had Pacquiao winning 117-111.
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“I did my best,” Pacquiao said. “I guess my best wasn’t good enough.”
Shortly after the announcement, fans of Pacquio took to social networking sites to blast the decision claiming that the champ was robbed of his belt.
As for his opponent, Bradley spoke after the fight saying: “I thought I won the fight,” Bradley said. “I didn’t think he was as good as everyone says he was. I didn’t feel his power.”
But Bob Arum claims that mid-fight, Bradley spoke differently saying:” I went over to Bradley before the decision and he said, `I tried hard but I couldn’t beat the guy.'”
Oh the politics of boxing. Do you believe Bradley deserved the belt? Sound off in the comments section below.
