Promoter Bob Arum has called on the Nevada attorney general to initiate an investigation into Bradley’s split-decision victory
An investigation has been called for by boxing promoter Bob Arum into the controversial outcome of Saturday’s Pacquiao-Bradley fight.
Bradley, a 4-1 underdog, was declared the winner against Pacquiao in the split-decision verdict that shook the World Boxing Organization and now could be the impetus for an investigation into alleged misconduct.
Bradley won the welterweight title with the voting between all three judges identical at 115-113. Both Duane Ford and C.J. Ross ruled in favor of Bradley. Jerry Roth disagreed, handing the fight to Pacquiao.
But, the rematch that Bradley might have hoped for may have to wait as promoter Bob Arum, whose company promotes both fighters, remains outraged at what he, and many others across the nation, saw as a wide margin of victory for Pacquiao.
Despite allegations that Arum himself may have somehow rigged the fight, he is calling for an investigation to ascertain the truth behind the matter.
“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,” Arum said. “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,” Arum added. “But there needs to be an independent investigation because it strains credulity that an event everybody saw as so one-sided one way all the three judges saw it as close. It strains credulity.”
One of the judges, Ford, spoke with Yahoo! Sports Sunday about those who are criticizing the final decision.
“If this were ‘American Idol,’ without a doubt, Manny Pacquiao would have won. But it was not. I gave an honest opinion,” Ford said. “I had Pacquiao up 4-2, I think, at the end of six rounds. I thought he hurt Bradley a couple 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.”
Promoter Bob Arum has said that he will not schedule a rematch between Bradley and Pacquiao unless Nevada attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto begins an investigation into the decision.
