Shock the world, he did.

Timothy Bradley fulfilled his pre-fight promise of beating the #2 pound-for-pound boxer in their bout Saturday evening at the MGM Grand. The undefeated “Desert Storm” scored a split decision victory over heavily-favored Manny Pacquiao and sparked a controversy to stir renewed interest for boxing.



Bradley, a 4-1 underdog according to Las Vegas odds, revelled in spite of heavy boos from the incensed crowd as ring announcer Michael Buffer proclaimed him the winner. Afterwards, numerous journalists, celebrities, and netizens expressed outrage at the outcome . “Pacman”, losing for the first time in seven years, perhaps said it best for many, “I do my best and I guess my best wasn’t good enough.”

Sports media all had “Pacman” winning handily. Associated Press, ESPN, Fox Sports, HBO, LA Times, New York Daily News, and Yahoo! Sports were only a few among outfits who scored Pacquiao winning by at least 5 points. However, two of the three official judges thought otherwise by scoring 115-113 in favor of Bradley while only one had Pacquiao triumphing 115-113.



Fight promoter Bob Arum, speaking at the post-fight press conference, expressed his own personal outrage. Arum claimed that right after the fight, Bradley told him, “I tried hard, but I couldn’t beat the guy.” As of press time, Arum is pushing for the Nevada attorney general to conduct an investigation on the scoring.


Objective data of the fight flooded media right after the decision was announced. Trusted punches scoring system CompuBox tallied Pacquiao connecting on more jabs, power punches, and punches in total. “Pacman” also had a better percentage for his jabs (24% against 11%), power punches (39% against 28%) and total punches (34% against 19%). Bradley later admitted getting hurt by Pacquiao’s notorious left and said, “(Pacquiao’s) a beast.”

“Desert Storm” did throw 88 more punches than “Pacman”, but half of his total were jabs: considered to be only set-up punches for the heavier strikes. “Tonight, he never hurt me. Most of his punches hit my arms,” said Pacquiao.



Nonetheless, contrary to Arum’s statement that the contentious decision was the “death knell of boxing,” the widely-speculated rematch actually does more good than harm for the sport. As Yahoo! Sports columnist Kevin Iole writes, “The rematch will be bigger than Saturday’s bout by a wide margin. Bradley will become a star... And Pacquiao’s legion of fans will rally to his support...”


As shocks go, the rematch in November only grants us boxing enthusiasts, as this fight has discovered, another venue to be shocked one way or the other.

Do you think the judges' decision was a fair one?

Photos courtesy of: CompuBox; Daily Mail UK; Rappler

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