Pacquiao-Bradley Promoter Bob Arum Refuses Rematch, Wants Investigation

If you watched the fight between what most consider the world’s best boxer, Manny Pacquiao, and now new welterweight title holder, Timothy Bradley, you know Pacquiao won. It was arguably one of the most controversial outcomes since Roy Jones Jr. was robbed in the Seoul Olympics of 1988.

Due to the uproar of media and public since the fight, promoter Bob Arum says he will not allow a Pacquiao-Bradley rematch until the Nevada attorney general, Catherine Cortez Masto, initiates an investigation. Bradley, who was a 4-1 underdog entering the fight, upset Pacquiao in a split-decision. All three judges scored the bout 115-113, with Duane Ford and C.J. Ross proclaiming Bradley the winner and Jerry Roth siding with Pacquiao.

Arum’s company, Top Rank, promotes both Pacquiao and Bradley causing fans and media to question whether he or his company had rigged the fight in Bradley’s favor. Because of this, Arum is demanding an investigation stating:

“I want to investigate whether there was any undue influence, whether the (Nevada Athletic Commission) gave any particular instruction and how they came to this conclusion,” said Arum, who at the post-fight news conference was adamant the result was a mistake but not the result of any chicanery. “But the whole sport is in an uproar. People are going crazy.

“If this was a subjective view that each of [the judges] honestly held, OK. I would still disagree, but then we’re off the hook in terms of there being no conspiracy. But there needs to be an independent investigation because it strains credulity that an event everybody saw as so one-sided one way all three judges saw it as close. It strains credulity.”

Judge Duane Ford has answered to some of the controversy saying that it is not fair for people who do not understand the scoring criteria to accuse and vilify the judges. He had this to say:

“In pro boxing, you look for damage, and if the punches are equal and the damage is equal, you are looking for effective aggression, and that does not necessarily mean the guy going forward,” Ford said. “Effective aggression can be a guy going back. And then you look at ring generalship, and that’s all about control.

“When you score a fight of that magnitude, you know the criticism comes with the job. But unless you are totally focused on that scoring zone for three minutes, it’s impossible to score the fight correctly. I know you can’t do it talking into a microphone. It was a close fight in my mind that could have gone either way. The result was nothing more than three judges giving an honest opinion, and nothing other than that.”

He went on to say that although he understands the uproar, it is mainly due to Pacquiao’s extreme popularity and large fan base.

“If this were American Idol, without a doubt, Manny Pacquiao would have won,” Ford said. “But it was not. I gave an honest opinion. I had Pacquiao up 4-2, I think, at the end of six rounds. I thought he hurt Bradley a couple of times early in the fight. But when the bell rang to end that round, it was over and what happens in one round doesn’t carry over to the next round. They’re separate units.

“In the second half of the fight, Pacquiao picked off a lot of punches to the head, but Bradley landed some hard body shots. That hurt Pacquiao. I don’t mean it hurt him in the sense of it physically hurting him, but in terms of scoring and piling up points. Bradley did an excellent job standing his ground as a boxer. Remember, it’s a boxing match and Bradley demonstrated his ability to box expertly.”