Pacshet!

Today is a sad day for boxing.  Manny Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king from General Santos/Saranggani lost to a split decision of  113-115, 115-113 and 115-113 to Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.  While Bradley's camp was ecstatic over the win, Manny's fans from all over the world were flustered at the outcome of the fight.  Clearly, anyone who watched that fight will attest that Manny Pacquiao won fair and square.  It doesn't take a boxing analyst to see that Pacquiao landed the most punches.  In fact, it was irritating to watch Bradley resort to ducking and hugging throughout the match.  Fans resorted to Twitter to express their bewilderment.  From Pinoys to celebrities to athletes, they all could not believe the boxing travesty that happened today.  During the aftermath of the fight, worldwide trending topics included ##MannyPacquiaoIsStillTheWorldsBestBoxerever, RIPBoxing and Pacshet.

Here are some of the tweets:

Miley Ray Cyrus ‏@MileyCyrus

Yo manny! you just gotta remember what my daddy @billyraycyrusalways told me "when you knock em out, you dont need no judge!"

Mario Lopez ‏@MarioLopezExtra

I'm so disgusted. The JUDGES need to be drug tested! What fight were they watching?! I called the international broadcast and was on the.apron and Pacquiao simply outclassed him. Wasn't even close in my eyes... Unbelievable. So disappointed in my sport. Boxing is killing me

SHAQ ‏@SHAQ

I watched allota fights but that decision was some bs. Now I wanna see pacqiou verses may weather I spelled PAC mans name wrong so what lol

Jimmy Kimmel @jimmykimmel
Paula Abdul would have done a better job judging the@MannyPacquiao fight

Pinoy Pride

Like most Pinoys, I wasn't a big fan of boxing before Manny Pacquiao.  He brought pride and joy to Filipinos worldwide.  His rags-to-riches story, armed with perseverance is an inspiration to everyone.  Whenever Manny is in the ring, Filipinos really stop their daily routine and make sure to catch the fight.  Whether they be following the fight on Pay-Per-View, on the radio, or on the super delayed telecast of GMA7, you will be sure that all the households are tuned in. Such is the power of Manny that there is a zero crime rate during his fights.  With each fight, he is welcomed home with a parade, a resolution from the House of Representatives and a courtesy call to Malacanang.  With every victory, Filipinos beam with pride.  But even if he lost the fight, he will still be welcomed home with much respect. 

RIP Boxing

I have read of stories of matches being rigged, and this match puts great doubt on the credibility of the sport.  In fact, the sport have already lost fans, who cannot believe how the judges scored.  Clearly, Manny was robbed. But who do we really blame?  Who is behind all of this?  Could it be that Bradley paid off the judges? But we could see that Bradley himself was shocked with the results.  He even said that he'd watch the replays first, while Manny said with conviction that he won the fight.  I can only point to Bob Arum, the promoter of this event. I am not sure what game he's playing at, on why he dropped Pacquiao.  But from a promoter's point of view, he's milking this.  Manny is a huge moneymaker, earning millions mainly from pay-per-view shares, and Arum gets a big chunk of that.  It is widely known that Manny has been thinking of retiring, and even saying that the Pac Bradley would be his last fight.   And I daresay, a rematch is in the works for this one.

And guess who wins for this one? Bob Arum.

Pacshet.

Pinoys are all familiar with the life of Manny.  We all love him as a boxer, but not the same can be said in his other endeavors.  Prior to his rekindled relationship with God, it is no secret that Manny has been sleeping around, drinking, and gambling.  He joined show business and provided a different kind of entertainment to the masses. He is rumored to have fathered children from various women.  He has entered another dirty world, the world of politics.  He lost in GenSan, relocated and won in Saranggani.  We have seen him as a political butterfly.  

I admit, there was a time that I wanted Pacman to lose.  It was time for him to retire.  It is always better to exit the industry in your prime.  He is getting old. He is no longer as agile as he was.  Two fights ago, I wanted him to lose because his fights were getting too predictable.  Knockout or a win for Manny. I wanted him to lose, but not the way that he lost today. Not how he was robbed.  Not how the sport got back at him.

Instead of calling for a rematch, Pacquiao should call on the integrity of the judges.  Pacquiao should make the move to clean the sport of hungry promoters, of biased commentators.  Other than being a legendary boxer, Pacquiao should work to champion to re-install the credibility of boxing.

And maybe, Pinoys should find a sport that is not as dirty, not a brutal, not as bloody as boxing.