LAS VEGAS — The outcry in this gambling city was so loud Floyd Mayweather Jr. could have heard it in his jail cell. On the other side of the world, people cried in the streets in Manila, and the presidential palace issued a statement praying for the quick return of their hero’s strength and fervor.
Through it all, Manny Pacquiao was a model of serenity.
“I hope you’re not dismayed or discouraged,” Pacquiao said. “I can fight. I can still fight.”
That much was evident Saturday night in a fight Pacquiao seemed to have under control up until the time the judges’ scorecards were announced. He pounded Timothy Bradley early, landed more punches and looked a lot like the fighter who catapulted to fame on a remarkable undefeated run over the last seven years.
That he’s a former champion now is thanks to some judging that was questionable, if not borderline incompetent. But boxing has always been a subjective sport, and anything shy of a knockout is always open to interpretation by the three judges who sit ringside and score things round by round.
Pacquiao understands that as well as anyone, which may account for his smiles and calm demeanor afterward. In his last fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, he was lucky to escape with a majority decision that just as easily could have gone to his Mexican challenger, and he’s been the beneficiary of other close decisions, too.
He was never close to knocking out Bradley; he was never able to knock him down. He coasted some in the late rounds, and left his fate in the hands of other people — something every fighter is cautioned never to do.
It’s a mistake he vows not to repeat if the two meet as expected Nov. 10, in a rematch both say they want.
“That will make me become a warrior in the next few months,” Pacquiao said, “because in the rematch my feeling is I don’t want to go the whole 12 rounds.”
The end of Pacquiao’s 15-fight winning streak was even more startling because most near ringside didn’t see it coming. Almost without exception every writer had Pacquiao well ahead, while HBO’s resident unofficial judge Harold Lederman had him winning 11 rounds out of 12. The Associated Press scored it 117-111 for Pacquiao.
Punching stats compiled by Compubox showed Pacquiao landing 253 punches to 159 for Bradley, and landing more punches in 10 of the 12 rounds. But boxing statistics are subjective, too, compiled by two people counting the punches they believe land in a fight — and this one got so wild at times it was hard to tell who was hitting whom.
Still, when the split decision was announced and judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross had Bradley winning 115-113, the pro-Pacquiao crowd booed loudly, and 81-year-old promoter Bob Arum nearly went apoplectic.
“This isn’t about a close decision,” said Arum, forgetting for a moment that he promotes both fighters. “This is absurd and ridiculous and everyone involved in boxing should be ashamed.”
It didn’t take long for radio talk shows and people commenting online to take up the theme. As usual, they said they would never watch another fight and, as usual, claimed the fight had to be fixed.
It wasn’t, of course, because boxing in Nevada is heavily regulated and there has never been any indication judges could be bought off for a big fight. If they got it wrong — and there were some who said they didn’t — they got it wrong simply because they liked what they saw when Bradley switched styles midway through the fight and started boxing Pacquiao instead of brawling with him.
