It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including the good, the bad, and the ugly of Pacquiao vs Bradley, Bob Arum's Oscar-worthy performance, Kelly Pavlik's hopes at another world title, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer!
- Pacquiao was straight up robbed by Butch Cassidy himself. We all saw it and we all know what happened. Anyone who gave Bradley the win in that fight needs to be banned from the sport of boxing. No disrespect to Bradley, as he is a great human being and one hell of a tough fighter, but he did not belong in the same ring as Manny Pacquiao. I am truly glad for Tim as he has essentially guaranteed himself another multi-million dollar payday, but he did not earn that victory, nor did he look or sound like a man who won the fight. Never has a man looked so defeated when his name was announced as the victor by Michael Buffer. Because I can go on and on analyzing every aspect of what is wrong with boxing, I'm going to stop myself and break Saturday night's decision down into 3 components. Here is Pacquiao vs. Bradley...the good, the bad, and the ugly:
- The good. On a night when the NBA conference finals had a Game 7 featuring Lebron James, the NHL had the Stanley Cup, Euro Cup 2012 was underway, the Belmont Stakes took place, the French Open Finals were set, and Major League Baseball had interleague rivalries in play, IT WAS BOXING THAT TOOK CENTER STAGE! When the Pacquiao vs. Bradley decision came through, ESPN (the worldwide leader in sports) immediately interrupted coverage of the Heat vs. Celtics to allow Teddy Atlas to rant about the corruption in boxing. Say what you will, but no press is bad press. The decision was garbage, but so is college football's bowl system. Yet, people still argue about it. Boxing was front and center on the sports stage Saturday. For anyone saying boxing is dying or boxing is dead, there are about 5,000 headlines across the world that tell us otherwise. No disrespect to MMA, but when was the last time a poor ruling in an MMA fight brought the sports world to a halt. Boxing is doing just fine. One other thing to add to this point that nobody is discussing, I personally feel that Pacquiao's stock actually rose after this performance. After several sub-par performances, Pacquiao looked very focused and turned back the clock a bit. I don't think his marketability or big-fight potential has diminished one bit.
- The bad. Clearly, the decision. This was another black eye for the Sweet Science. Saturday night's decision was everything that is wrong with boxing. The decision was as bad as Cloud vs. Campillo, Rios vs. Abril, and Williams vs. Lara. The only difference is those guys are not Manny Pacquiao big. If Derek Jeter has a homerun in Game 7 of the World Series that gets called foul on a bad call, it's the biggest story in sports. The Derek Jeter of boxing was robbed Saturday night.
- The ugly. The fact that Bob Arum is going to make any money off of this rematch is a travesty in itself. I personally am not interested in a rematch because it would be another mismatch. Timothy Bradley will not get his just due because this cloud will always hang over his head. Juan Manuel Marquez will not get another chance at Pacquiao. The list goes on. The Nevada State Athletic Commission, and Executive Director Keith Kizer, need to take the same action that the state of New Jersey took when it suspended judges Donald Givens, Hilton Whitaker III, and Al Bennett indefinitely after the Paul Williams vs. Erislandy Lara decision in 2011. Duane Ford, C.J. Ross, and even Jerry Roth, who scored the bout 115-113 for Pacquiao, need to be placed under investigation and suspended immediately. The commission was very quiet Saturday night. Rumors are surfacing (and these are just rumors) that the betting odds swayed heavily in favor of Bradley just before the fight. If that is truly the case, action should be taken in the short term until the stench of Saturday night blows over.
- Bob Arum deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance at the post-fight press conference. Arum was SCREAMING robbery on Saturday night, but there is nobody in the world that can convince me he didn't have a hand in that decision. I am of the belief that Pacquiao informed Bob Arum before the fight that he would retire after the Bradley fight, and would only come out of retirement to face Floyd Mayweather. I do not believe Pacquiao is interested in a 4th fight with Juan Manuel Marquez or else that is the fight we would have seen Saturday night. Bradley's victory ensured 3 things: no fight with Floyd Mayweather, a rematch with Timothy Bradley will do more pay-per-view buys than Saturday night's fight did, and the decision gave Arum leeway to give Pacquiao less money than he would have had to pay to him had he fought Marquez. If Pacquiao decides not to take the rematch, Bradley vs. Marquez will happen in November on pay-per-view. Sorry Juan Manuel, but you will suffer the same fate. Even at 80-years-old, the BobFather is still sharp as an arrow, one hell of a promoter, and an even better con artist.
- Why was Manny Pacquiao waiting for the end of Game 7 of the Heat vs. Celtics series? Did he have money on the game? I thought Jinkee forced him to quit gambling?
- Speaking of the Heat, I'm thrilled that my Miami boys are back in the finals. I think Oklahoma City is one hell of a basketball team, but science has always taught us that Heat rises; Thunder just makes noise. GO HEAT!!!
- Was anyone else impressed with HBO's coverage of the weigh-in for Pacquiao/Bradley? I didn't think it was possible to make a weigh-in a 30-minute television special, but HBO did it quite nicely. For that, I commend them.
- Jim Lampley's sheer disgust for the decision was more than justified. I have seen people hammer Lampley in the last few years for his "bias," but whether or not fans feel he has an agenda, one thing he will always do is tell us what he thinks. I'm not sure that is what a blow-by-blow man should do, but Lampley was 100% justified in his reaction and prompt sign-off Saturday night.
- Sky Sports is rather entertaining in their fight coverage. During the lull between the co-feature and the main event Saturday night, I decided to turn on Sky Sports to hear what folks in England were saying about the fight. While they were a bit more animated, having Ricky Hatton as one of the expert guests, it was analyst Steve Bunce that had the comment of the night. He was ranting about Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza. While I don't agree with this statement, it made me laugh like crazy. Bunce called Ariza, "nothing more than a protein shake expert!" Tell us how you really feel, Steve!
- Look out, but there is a new major player in the super bantamweight division. Guillermo Rigondeaux may be the best 122-pound fighter in one of boxing's most stacked divisions. I know he has been calling out Nonito Donaire, but I would love to see Rigo fight legitimate threat Abner Mares. That is a Fight of the Year candidate if I've ever seen one. Mares can box, brawl, and straight-up out-tough someone. Rigondeaux needs to be tested and Mares is the perfect candidate.
- HBO better hope it lands Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson. I know it's all but a done deal, but wouldn't it be something if Showtime jumped in at the last minute and made an offer that neither Dan Goossen nor Gary Shaw can refuse? HBO would have promoted a fight on a pay-per-view fight card for another network. As is always the case in boxing, until the fighters are in the ring, anything can happen.
- The Jorge Arce injury was VERY LEGITIMATE! Anyone who has seen Arce fight knows the man just loves to bring it. I had more than 10 people send me messages after he chose not to continue saying he took a dive and didn't want to continue fighting. I'm going to set the record straight. A busted eardrum is no joke. In 2009, I was in a very bad car accident that busted my eardrum. I wasn't able to turn my head sideways for a week due to constant nausea and a spinning room. That injury is nothing to mess with, and I believed Arce 100% when he said he felt like he was falling sideways. Been there, done that.
- Does anyone believe Kelly Pavlik will actually be a world champion again? After Friday night's performance, I doubt it. Pavlik would get eaten alive by any of the major players at 160 or 168 pounds. Scott Sigmon didn't give him problems, but Pavlik couldn't take him out either. That's not the old Kelly Pavlik.
- Mike Jones! Who? For a fighter to be at an elite level, he must show one thing: heart! Randall Bailey did what he always does. He looked for an opening for the big knockout punch. Mike Jones fought like a scared fighter who didn't come to win a title. Randall Bailey has now joined Paulie Malignaggi as the most sought after welterweight in boxing because opponents may see them as an easy target to win a world title.
- I hope Emanuel Steward was closely watching the Pacquiao vs. Bradley decision. His fighter, Andy Lee, may suffer the same fate Saturday night against Bob Arum-promoted Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
- Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Mike Travis in Reading, PA, who sent this message just before the Pacquiao vs. Bradley fight...
"Dave, I just put $100 on Tim Bradley. I haven't watched 24/7, and I am not that impressed with Bradley as a fighter. The reason I am picking Bradley is because Manny Pacquiao has lost his touch. I think about it like this. What was Tiger Woods doing when he was winning all those tournaments? He was going out and getting every piece of strange in sight. He was drinking, and I'm sure he was gambling. He stops all of that and look what happened. Pacquiao is doing the same thing now. He has lost his edge. That's why I'm picking Bradley. It has nothing to do with him as a fighter and everything to do with Pacquiao not screwing everything in sight anymore."
Well Mike, you were right and you were wrong. Clearly, Pacquiao won the fight and Bradley was outclassed. The 24/7 hype helped to build Bradley into a legitimate threat, but the fact is that Pacquiao fought a tremendous fight and got robbed. Congrats on the big win though! I'm sure the bookies are pissed as hell. For the record, I had it 117-111 for Pacquiao. Watch out for Tiger now. He just won a tournament last weekend and is single again. I'm sure he is back on the prowl. Lol.
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