No sucker for Pacquiao-Bradley rematch
-A A +AThursday, June 21, 2012
THE good news is that the five-member international judging panel created by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) to review the decision in the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight on June 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada has concluded that the Filipino boxing champion won. The bad news is that the split decision awarding victory to the American will stay.
The WBO has no authority to change the result, its president, Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel explained. If this were the case, then why did the boxing organization order a review in the first place? The answer is money, lots of it that can be earned from a rematch.
They’re already talking about it. “If they want to make a rematch, we will approve a rematch and if they don’t, we will order one,” Valcarcel said. Pacquiao also said he prefers a rematch. “My supporters shouldn’t worry. We’re going to get that title,” he was quoted by ESPN’s Dan Rafael is saying.
No, Manny, we have a lot to worry about, enough to make us think twice about spending precious money for a pay-per-view broadcast of your rematch. First of all, the alacrity with which you favorably responded to the idea of fighting Bradley a second time is rather disturbing. You were not the only one wronged by the judges and the others who conspired to rob you of victory; the boxing fans were similarly wronged and they expected you to protest as strongly as you could in their behalf.
Your immediate reaction to the decision left so much to be desired, even considering your newly professed faith. Even Jesus got angry when he was wronged, read your Bible again. If you had raised hell in protest, we would have cheered and even Brother Eddie would have understood. As it was, you were meeker than a lamb.
And now you’re telling us that you preferred a rematch than Bradley giving up the title because “people may think I just usurped it.” Usurped? Do you understand what the word means, Manny? It was Bradley, through probably no fault of his, who usurped your crown. There’s nothing wrong with getting back what you rightfully own.
Of course, there’s no money if Bradley simply gives it up. Boxing thrives on controversy and, after what happened, it is a sure thing that some people will be laughing all the way to the bank again once the rematch is held. And that includes your promoter, Bob Arum, who continues to play coy and furious to your daring and forgiving.
By the way, I now remember how the two television commentators who covered the fight (one of them was named Mario) were blabbering from round one about how Bradley was in control of the bout. They tried too hard to convince the viewer that the American was winning that, at one point, I began to wonder if they and I were watching the same match.
I also wonder if they were in to something that we, the ordinary boxing fans, were not. Were they hired to condition the minds of the viewers to accept a pre-determined Bradley victory? If so, who hired them? Who pre-determined the victory? Is this why the WBO will not reverse the decision?
Manny is raring for a rematch, that is the impression I gathered from the ESPN story.
I’d like to believe that redemption, rather than money, is his main motivation. He has already more than enough of the latter.
I don’t, unfortunately. And I won’t waste the little that I have, watching a fight that came about only because someone cheated on June 10. They can laugh all the way to the bank come November 11 but not with my money. There are other suckers.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 22, 2012.
Opinion
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