By Efren L. Danao
The Boxer of the Decade, Rep. Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao, was the victim in the Robbery of the Century. He landed more jabs and power punches than Tim Bradley Jr. and yet, the judges awarded a split decision win to the American. What happened?
Here are the possible reasons why the improbable happened in Las Vegas:
*The judges were angry at Pacquiao for making them wait while he watched the basketball game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Before the fight, Pacquiao said he had decided to do away with basketball, along with gambling, cockfighting and womanizing. On the very hour that he was supposed to enter the ring, he was busy watching the basketball game while the judges and the boxing fans waited.
*The judges were rooting for the Miami Heat to win their NBA East Conference championship.
They were incensed that Pacquiao was actually a Celtic fan and they made him pay for this.
(My daughter Irene has a different take. “The judges lost a lot of money betting on the Celtics and they wanted everybody to be as miserable as they were,” she wrote in her Facebook account.
*The decision is part of a conspiracy to make Pacquiao suspicious of Bob Arum and junk him as promoter. This will then make it easier to arrange a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
My daughter Irene opined: “The judges were so desperate to see a Pacquiao - Mayweather fight, they wanted to give Mayweather a false sense of security. ‘See, Floyd, if Bradley can beat the PacMan, then maybe you can too. Do not be afraid, child.’”
*Promoter Bob Arum convinced the judges to award the fight to Bradley so he could get a bigger profit in the rematches between Pacquiao and Bradley. Arum admitted that he would make a pile in a rematch although he added that he found the decision for Bradley “absurd and ridiculous.” Oh, were those crocodile tears?
*The contract of PacMan with Bob Arum was about to end and Arum was looking for a new cash cow. He saw this in Bradley and manipulated the fight results. So, when PacMan retires after a year, Arum has nothing to worry about.
*The judges merely wanted to test the Christianity of Pacquiao; they were curious to see his reaction to their injudicious scoring. (He passed the “test” with flying colors.) They were also wondering how his religiosity could blend with boxing. (Actually, boxing is the perfect venue to exercise the Christian precept—“It’s better to give than to receive.”)
*The judges were atheists and they wanted to show to Pac-quiao that they were the real gods in Nevada boxing. Las Vegas really deserves its appellation as “Sin City,” and Pacquiao should learn how to behave properly there.
*The scoring showed that the influence of gays and lesbians in the United States extends beyond politics. The gays and lesbians obviously convinced the judges to give Pacquiao the raw end of their scoring.
*The judges were supporters of US President Barack Obama and they hit the roof when they learned that Pacquiao had opposed Obama’s stand for gay marriages.
*Big bettors for Bradley bribed the judges. A $1,000 bet for Bradley paid $3,800 shortly before fight time. (The judges should be required to sign a waiver on the confidentiality of their bank accounts or else they would be “impeached” from further officiating in Nevada boxing bouts.)
*The judges had defective eye sights and they thought Bradley was the one pummeling Pacquiao instead of the other way around.
*The judges were high on drugs so they saw the fight differently. They got away with it because they are not covered by mandatory drug-testing.
*The judges wanted to be famous and the easiest way is to make a highly scandalous decision.
The judges had already decided before the fight started that Bardley should win regardless of how he performed on the ring. Shades of the Commission on Elections before EDSA 1! Then, many of the proclaimed winners were actually Comelected rather than elected.
*Since Pacquiao was a 4-1 favorite (a $480 bet for Pacquiao won only $100), the judges believed that Pacquiao should hit Bradley four times more to deserve a win. Pacquiao connected on 253 of 751 punches while Bradley connected on 159 of 839. Pacquiao edged his opponents on power punches connected, 190 to 108, and on jabs connected, 63-51.
These stats were far from the 4 to 1 that the judges expected of Pacquiao.
*The judges thought they were in a golf tournament where the one with fewer swings and strokes wins.
*The judges are actually against professional boxing and making an unpopular and shocking decision is one sure way of killing the sport. This early, there are already thousands of disappointed fans crying RIP to boxing.
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