As Michael Buffer read off the scorecards Saturday night, I could have sworn that there was some kind of glitch in the Matrix. I think everyone in the arena felt the same momentary state of surrealism as they witnessed boxing’s worst robbery in a major fight since Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez fought to a “draw” in 1993. That is except for Manny who just calmly stood by as if he expected the result. At first I thought that maybe he didn’t hear the decision. But, then as he and Freddy (his trainer) just continued to stand there as if it were business as usual, I couldn’t help but be suspicious. Was it business as usual?
But, what kind of business are we talking about? If you listened to the chorus of boos that filled the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas it can’t be the kind of business that would be good for boxing. Indeed, it would have to be some pretty funny business – the kind that involves a great deal of behind-the-scenes conspiracy.
Far-fetched? Maybe. But, not any more far-fetched than the possibility that three professional judges could watch the same fight everyone else did and actually believe that Bradley won. Or even that it was just a close victory for Pacquiao. There didn’t seem to be a single person in the building who gave the fight to Bradley. Even the HBO boxing analyst Max Kellerman said he scored it eight rounds to four for Pacquiao, and that he thought doing so was being generous to Bradley. Ten rounds to two, nine to three, and even 11 to one in favor of Pacquiao were more common spreads among those who covered the fight.
So, when people tried to understand why Pacquiao lost a fight where he landed more punches than Bradley in every round except for one, while connecting on a much higher percentage of his blows, it’s no surprise that foul play came immediately to mind. Anyone who searched for a rational explanation for this result was bound to come up empty.
I have seen Manny Pacquiao get outboxed in the past— Juan Manuel Marquez did it in many of the 36 rounds he’s spent in the ring with Pacquiao, although it was never quite enough to earn Marquez a decision. And Bradley’s performance Saturday night hardly resembled Marquez at any time in the fight! For starters, Marquez never ran. He stood a step out of Pacquiao’s range, waited for him to attack, and timed his counter punches. It has been the most effective way to fight Pacquiao to date, yet Marquez was still knocked down four times in their three fights. But even though Marquez ate his fair share of Pacquiao leather, his ability to weather Manny’s storm and land his own precise counterpunches allowed him to do something Bradley never did — hurt Pacquiao. That’s why Marquez is still considered Pacquiao’s toughest opponent. Bradley is just the beneficiary of boxing’s most recent travesty.
Here’s what I think really happened Saturday night. We’re never going to know the truth. But damn, does it sure make the most sense! Follow along this line of reasoning and tell me if you don’t agree.
Top Rank promotes Manny Pacquiao. He is the second biggest earner in boxing, after Floyd Mayweather. But, because Pacquiao has fought more frequently than Floyd over the past five years, he has actually generated more overall revenue. The Bradley fight didn’t even sell out the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and it’s expected to do lower pay-per-view numbers — largely because Bradley doesn’t have much of a following — but when all the revenue is added up for Saturday’s fight, Pacquiao will have once again made Top Rank many millions of dollars.
In recent years, Bob Arum and Top Rank have become somewhat notorious for their reluctance to make big fights with boxers promoted by other companies. The reason? Business is always better for Top Rank when they schedule fights between two Top Rank stars. That way, once the fighters receive their guaranteed purses and negotiated percentages of the TV revenue, the rest of the pie goes straight to Top Rank. If Top Rank were to stage a fight in conjunction with Golden Boy or another major promoter, the company’s earnings would essentially be cut in half.
This is why Bradley was never considered a likely opponent for Pacquiao until last year, when he left his former promoter and signed with Top Rank. It’s also one of the reasons why a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather has never been made. Even though Mayweather-Pacquiao would create the biggest payday in boxing history, Top Rank would have to split that payday with Mayweather’s team and the resulting profits might not exceed what Top Rank can make by pitting Pacquiao against an in-house fighter, even if the opponent is nowhere near as talented or famous as Mayweather.
Instead, Top Rank prefers to match Pacquiao with its own fighters. But, Pacquiao has beaten nearly every credible foe (Cotto, Clottey, Margarito, Mosley, and Marquez) in Top Rank’s stable in recent years. Therefore, Pacquiao’s loss to Bradley solved the problem of finding Manny’s next opponent. Instead of force-feeding the public a fourth Marquez fight, Top Rank can stage the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, and they can reasonably expect the fight to generate greater profits than the first one, since Bradley’s public profile will grow and boxing fans will be keen to watch Pacquiao attempt to set the record straight with a knockout. Indeed, even Bob Arum himself admitted after that fight, “I am going to make a lot of money in the rematch.”
Are these backstage plots real? Your guess is as good as mine, but it seems that they have become just as much a part of the “entertainment value” of boxing as what happens in the ring. For, trying to understand the promoters’ motives and anticipate their next moves seems to create just as much media interest as watching Pacquiao overwhelm his opponents. Apparently, boxing writers and hard-core fans understand that the game behind the scenes is just as important as the sport inside the ring. They don’t seem to mind that a scam artist like Arum, who makes everyone who cares about boxing feel like a schmuck, continues to degrade the sport that they love in the name of “business.” Because, every single schmuck including myself just keeps coming back for more.
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