Boxing
It was not a fixed fight, so forget the fun conspiracy theories. Manny Pacquiao lost a decision he deserved to win Saturday night because boxing’s scoring system is broken, and when something is left in the hands of judges, we can end up with a mess on our hands.
The winner left for the hospital in a wheelchair. The loser walked out with nary a scratch on him. More than 14,000 people exited, still shaking their heads in disbelief. Just your typical Saturday night at the fights, if controversy and bizarreness are typical.
I don’t know why anyone is surprised. It’s like waking up on Dec. 25 and wondering where all those presents came from, like a wife reacting with shock that flowers arrive on Feb. 14.
Randall Bailey won a world title Saturday with only two punches in nearly 11 rounds. But they were two lethal punches.
Controversy reigned after Timothy Bradley won a shocking 12-round split decision over WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, handing Pacquiao his first defeat since 2005.
Both Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley made weight for Saturday’s WBO welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden as Pacquiao, the reigning champion, weighed in right at the 147-pound limit with Bradley coming in at 146 this afternoon. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) remains a 4-1 betting favorite over Bradley, the current WBO junior welterweight champ, who is undefeated at 28-0 with one no contest and 12 KOs.
Somewhere along the line, perhaps at the bottom of a bottle, Kelly Pavlik lost his love for boxing.
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