Boxing was just starting to regain some real credibility, but the recent Pacquiao and Bradley controversy has ruined that! These days, the fight has a lot of people thinking boxing is fixed! For those not familiar with the event, it happened on June 9th. Viewers were shocked when Pacquiao lost to Bradley and, almost immediately, whispers and rumors of match-rigging started popping up. Pacquiao had spent the entire match pounding Bradley, won a startling eight out of 12 rounds, and yet still lost!
Most skeptics blamed the people at the top, claiming that the entire conspiracy was planned out and enacted by those who rule over the boxing world. It didn’t help matters that Floyd Mayweather Jr. had refused to fight Pacquiao. This just seemed like all the more reason for a big November match to be in order. It made sense that if Bradley won, everyone would be talking about it. Most of the finger-pointing and blame ended up being cast on Bob Arum.
Under closer scrutiny, though, this theory doesn’t really hold up. Arum never really wanted a re-match in the first place. He is even on record as having said so! Pacquiao and Bradley themselves were open to another fight, but Arum was agreeing with the fans. This had a bit of a calming effect on the rumor storm, but most people still weren’t satisfied.
Recently, however, the WBO reviewed the match in question and came to the decision that Pacquiao should have won. That’s when everyone started making their public statements. And, since then, Arum has changed his tune! He is agreeing to a rematch. Fans just want him to do something that will benefit boxing as a whole, and not just his own bottom line. Only time will tell what will come of this whole mess though.
The bottom line is that, if a rematch does occur, it makes it look like boxing is trying to take a mulligan. Standing by the decision of the sanctioning body is what the fans are demanding and if it doesn’t happen, the sport stands to lose even more of its credibility. Boxing lovers need to be crossing their fingers and making their voices heard. Otherwise, this timeless sport is going to lose all credibility and perhaps even much of its viewership as it slides into the likes of professional wrestling.
